Steve Joordens

And as they get used to this, it gets harder and harder for them to have in-person conversations.

That's how we make friends.

We build trust when we have conversations.

When we can look into somebody else's eyes and say, hey, you're emotionally reacting to this moment in time just like I am.

That makes me trust you.

You're somehow seeing events like I am.

You're experiencing them like I am.

And that makes me think you're safer.

I'm more comfortable hanging around you.

But I only know that if I can see you experiencing the emotion while I am.

That doesn't happen in text messages.

And so we end up with shallow relationships that feel like social connection, but just aren't.

We're seeing it.

So Desmond Tutu has a famous quote where he says, at some point, some of us have to stop pulling people out of the river and go upstream and find out why they're falling in in the first place, which is much more about preventative mental health.

Like, let's get them early.

Let's find out what the root causes are.

and let's try to do something about it then.

That's the promise that social health offers.

I think if we really do take it seriously, it's the right way to address a vast majority of mental health, physical health, and happiness issues, and even the division we see in schools.

I think if there's one thing that we need to be focusing on, that's the variable.