How the Age of Disconnection is Destroying our Communities and Health
Our relationships with food are not the only aspects of our health and wellness that are breaking down thanks to self-disconnection and disconnection from others.
Disconnection is not a new problem; it goes back hundreds of years. But we’ll begin with the Industrial Revolution, in 1760. Or as I like to think of it:
The beginning of The Age of Disconnection.
Some of the biggest shifts that happened during the industrial era were in regard to how we lived and worked. We moved from farming to factories, from rural communities to new cities. New technologies, from transportation to manufacturing, were abundant.
All that advancement sounds pretty great, right? Perhaps materially, but not so much for our mental and emotional well-being.
The Melting Pot
I believe another major contributor to the level of disconnection is one of the bragging rights of America: that we’re a cultural melting pot. Living near someone doesn’t mean you’ll feel connected to them. The vast diversity of cultures pooled together through urbanization and mass immigration beginning in 1880 likely led to distrustful, xenophobic feelings between neighbors, seeing one another as “others.”[1]
Factory Work
In addition, for people who went to work in the factories, work went from activities like craftsmanship or farming that gave one a sense of autonomy, purpose, and satisfaction, to becoming a cog in a wheel with no sense of purpose or power—which led to a rise in anxiety, depression, and existential crises.[2]
The Deception of Individualism
Underlying this disconnection from each other (urbanization) and ourselves (factory work), we furthered the sense of separation by emphasizing individualism—the idea that we’re capable of existing independently, that we should be self-reliant.
The pinnacle of individualism is the idea of the “self-made man.” I believe there is no such thing as being self-made. No matter where you start or where you end up, there are always dozens, if not more, people to thank for your success.
Individualism naturally fosters competition over reciprocity. To give you an example of just how damaging this can be, some Indigenous tribes who are reliant on reciprocity don’t even have a word for “poverty” and cannot conceive of how anyone could be left without resources or social support.[3, 4]
Meanwhile, more than 10% of the American population is considered impoverished, and many continue to believe it’s because the poor resist “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.”
The Digital Revolution
Now let’s fast forward from the Industrial Revolution to the more recent digital revolution.
Technology has been the latest driver of disconnection from each other and ourselves. I’ll spare you my diatribe there, but as you can imagine for yourself, the digital age has only served to widen the disconnection gap.[5]
While there are certainly other contributors to the Age of Disconnection, globalization, industrialization, individualism, and the digital revolution stand out to me as the strongest.
But why make it into a discussion and give the Age of Disconnection a name?
Because disconnection is driving maladaptive, dysfunctional behaviors.
Colloquially: we feel like shit.
And that’s not okay with me.
Connection is a basic need and reconnection is how humans heal. Quite literally, we cannot live without each other.
So we might as well engage in healing collectively.
Connection is the reason I co-founded Ritual Coaching Collective. It’s the reason I host online groups, group calls, and encourage my students to identify their allies and call on them for support.
Disconnection and self-disconnection are also the reasons why I don’t see strained relationships with your food, exercise, or body as isolated problems; to do so would be short-sighted.
That’s why Food Body Self coaching approaches food relationships, body image, and self-worth from such a wide lens, seeking out the root causes of discontent, and encouraging self-exploration to show you the answers, rather than attempting to apply a superficial solution. Applications for both group and private coaching are open now.
This blog is Part 2 of a 3-part series in The Age of Connection.
For Part 1, click here: Food is NOT the Root Cause of Overeating
For Part 3, click here: Do You NEED to Track Your Food?
[1] America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States
[2] Research: The Industrial Revolution Left Psychological Scars That Can Still Be Seen Today
[3] Is modern Western culture a health hazard?
[4] Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance (p. 150)
[5] Understanding and Combating Social Isolation in the Digital Age