Brett Cooper

Like when you live in a world that is as digital as ours, it makes sense that people retreat inwards, that they go online, that they choose the easier path.

That is just what human beings do.

So much of this, to Gen Z's credit, I'm giving a lot of grace here, obviously it is out of their control.

But, and this is the point of this episode, we are not completely off the hook.

Because it would be one thing if people were fine with the situation.

It would be one thing if we didn't care, if chatting online was a one-for-one replacement and none of us actually felt lonely or isolated, but that is not the truth.

I know it, and you know it.

Young people, both men and women, are lonelier than ever.

But the thing is, we have the tools to fix it.

It's not radical, it's literally just going back to what we've always done before the last decade or so.

But in more ways than one, we are coping.

We are giving excuses, and we are shooting ourselves in the damn feet.

Now, my friend Brittany actually pointed this out recently.

She wrote a tweet just like 24 hours ago and said, I believe a lot of the loneliness epidemic is because we live in the generation of flakes.

Before, you had to stay true to your word because if you were supposed to meet a friend at 1 p.m.

for coffee and they were nowhere to be found, it was embarrassing.

Now, people can cancel five minutes before via smartphones for self-care or any kind of random reason.

Or if they don't respond for three days and are like, I'm so sorry, I'm just now seeing this.

Be for real, you are on your phone nonstop.

I'm being attacked.