Humans need to feel witnessed, but these days we’re siloed off in McMansions, SUV’s, and lonely studio apartments. Sometimes a zoom conference is the most social thing we do in a day.
As we’ve moved away from church communities, rotary clubs, living with extended family, and feeling known by our villages, we have an unmet need to feel seen and witnessed as we go through the ups and downs of our lives. I believe social media has stepped in to be our surrogate village. Now, when we have a baby, take a vacation, or get nail art, we post it to feel witnessed. Someone shared in our experience; it was not all for naught.
Yet this surrogate village is less tangible. I don’t find it to be a wholly satisfactory form of feeling seen. What do you think?
