02/12/2025
This article I wrote took a long time to finish and courage to post. If you text and drive or spend long hours staring at your screens - don't read this - you won't get it because you are disconnected.
Living in a Disconnected World...
I fear for my son and the future he will face in a world where people have become so self-focused that they show little interest in the world around them. Social media and texting, as primary forms of communication, are at the heart of this disconnection. Distracted drivers treat emails and text messages as more important than the lives they endanger. Pedestrians cross streets glued to their smartphone screens, oblivious to oncoming traffic. How can these fleeting digital interactions replace genuine human connection? A text message asking, “How are you?” often receives an automatic “I’m fine” — a response that is neither genuine nor reflective of reality. What if the person responding is moments away from despair?
The question is no longer, “Where have all the people gone?” but rather, “Where have all the feelings gone?” Empathy, compassion, understanding, and love are emotions that cannot be fully conveyed through a screen; they must be experienced through spoken words and real actions. Even anger, frustration, and fear lose nuance when reduced to text. Technology has given us a voice, but it is choking the life out of genuine connection, leaving people more isolated than ever.
Why is this happening, and what does it mean for the future of our children? Some say that banning texting or social media will alienate children from their peers, but the cost of unrestricted digital interaction is far greater. My 15-year-old son understands this. He sees the dangers every time we ride our motorcycle and encounter distracted drivers. I jokingly tell him I’m more likely to be killed by a teenager texting his girlfriend than by an elderly driver or a drunk. This dark humor highlights a painful truth: distracted driving and walking are leading society to lose touch with the importance of social and emotional connections.
Social networking, ironically, fosters some of the most anti-social behaviors imaginable. Cyber bullying is rampant, allowing people to hide behind screens and unleash cruelty without facing real-world consequences. Online disinformation fuels radicalization, spreading lies and baseless opinions that divide communities and destroys relationships. It’s easy to act tough online, but the consequences of these actions ripple far beyond the digital realm. Words have power, whether spoken or typed, and they affect others in ways we often fail to consider.
While I use the internet to seek answers to practical questions, like what is safe to feed my hamster or how to improve my photography, I remain wary of the dangerous “rabbit holes” scattered across social media platforms. Networks brimming with hate, anger, and misinformation pull people into a void of bitterness and division. These toxic interactions erode friendships, alienate family members, and perpetuate lies. The internet, meant to connect us, often leaves us feeling more isolated.
During a recent photography outing, I found myself surrounded by fellow motorcyclists. We shared stories, vented frustrations about distracted drivers, and discussed life. It struck me how rare and precious this kind of face-to-face connection has become. Seeing expressions, hearing tones in voices, and feeling emotions in real-time — this is what it means to connect and to be human. Genuine communication can be messy and uncomfortable, but it is essential to our humanity.
I’ve decided to document moments of “disconnection” everywhere I go. By sharing these images on social media, I hope to raise awareness about the growing detachment in our society. Will people notice? Or will they, too, be too distracted by their screens to care?
The late Deputy Sheriff Michael Churney once joked about the “Zombie Apocalypse” when discussing the Covid pandemic. While he wasn’t referring to literal zombies, his comment rings true: the zombie apocalypse is already here. The mindless behaviors of people glued to their screens mirror the very definition of zombies. These “zombies” endanger others with their distracted driving and embody a lack of empathy and awareness. What separates us from animals is our capacity for reflection and connection, yet these traits are diminishing in the digital age.
Watching my 15-year-old son play online games, I’m at least comforted that he talks to his friends while playing. While I wish he spent more time outdoors, I understand the allure of teamwork and communication in games like Minecraft and the like. The concern, however, lies in a broader societal trend where technology replaces real-world interactions. Children raised on texting and social media risk losing the ability to be authentic and vulnerable, crucial traits in times of crisis.
Our society is also grappling with a new pandemic: loneliness. Overuse of screens and social media has replaced meaningful face-to-face interactions, leaving many feeling isolated. Gone are the days of meeting friends at coffee shops or connecting deeply with others. A text asking, “How are you?” is not a substitute for real conversation. The disconnection is palpable, and the loneliness it creates is a heavy burden to bear.
Driving on the freeway offers a microcosm of this detachment. Every day, I see drivers repeatedly hitting their brakes for no apparent reason, only to realize they’re looking down at their phones. Drifting into my lane forcing me and my motorcycle out of the lane. Nearly missing or hitting pedestrians in or out of cross-walks. These behaviors put everyone at risk and highlight the selfishness bred by constant digital distraction.
As we navigate this disconnected world, I hope we can reclaim what makes us human: the ability to connect, to feel, and to care for one another. For the sake of my son and future generations, we must prioritize real-world relationships over fleeting digital interactions. Only then can we rebuild a society grounded in empathy, understanding, and genuine connection.
