With the growth of a digital world, we are unshackled from the boundaries of social connectivity. Traditional media and communication mediums like newspapers, printed books, and postal services are slowly being replaced by emerging forms of media and social platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Long gone, the era of couples eagerly anticipating handwritten love letters delivered to their mailboxes; welcome to an age where relationships can unravel in a matter of few text messages.
However, amidst the celebration of virtual engagement with the world, we seem to dispose of the essence of “real social interaction”. There was a period of time where people actually “conversed” when dining together around a dining table, rather than eating alone, swiping through instagram reels wearing a pair of airpods pro on noise-canceling mode. This caveat of a virtual reality erodes our sense of connection as we engage online, rather than the actual tangible reality we live in.
Moreover, a perilous mentality arises with our virtual-evolving society: we tend to focus on the amount of interaction rather than the quality of it. Our conversation seemed to stick to our superficial experiences. We talk about drama in our life or the multiple unfavorable incidents that we either encounter in work or school and, of course, “how is the weather”. These talks are fine, but it is a blight on human character if the majority of conversations only extends to such a degree. We talk about the perceived nature, but we rarely talk about what we genuinely think, what interests us deeply in our hearts, or what concerns us at a higher level.
Another observation of our current world is that most people avoid showing diffidence and vulnerability, fearing that by doing so we are shone under the spotlight of a stage, examined and judged. Our susceptibility of being scanned by others’ apprehensive eyes is our eternal demon. Social anxiety, or as Sartre encapsulates in mere words, “hell is other people '', is driving us towards a lifestyle of meaningless decoration. FoMo (Fear of Missing out) directs our focus to social media, compelling us to build an edifice of a perceived self weaved by the opinions of others. We seek to become mere insecure overachievers enclosed with a shell of perceived success, with a void of our true wants inside our hearts. As Leon Wieseltier says, “consenting to be truly known, is an ominous prospect”.
This is an inevitable reality of our time, one that will someday be scrutinized by history.
But I want to take a turn on this generational bandwagon that we are all hopping on. Despite our desires for external validation, I believe there is a part of us that doesn't care for instagram likes, snapchat replies, or even popularity. I believe that we as human beings, have something called a soul, a quality that the secular culture doesn't really talk about. It is hard to define the soul, but to put it briefly, I think this is the part of us that yearns for beauty, truth, justice, and wisdom. This is the part of us that asks the bigger questions that extends through the frames of our perceptive life,something we intrinsically care about but often fail to prioritize due to its significance and transcendence. I think everyone has a soul, but it sleeps dormant under our hearts, buried by the triviality and monotonous bulk of our lives.
And thus, the concept of “The Connect '', struck me.
I wanted to create a haven to activate souls. I want to form a space where people can drop the guarded edifice of their perceptive self, and freely share, converse, and experience each other’s stories. I think of “The Connect'' as a metaphoric oasis in the middle of a desert, away from elements of life confining our creativity, detaining us on an opinionated metric of righteousness, and binding us to an ubiquitous module of success. This is a place where we share the fragments of our mind, with or without disclosure, and —as cliche as it is— forge life-long friends that we can relate and resonate with.
"The Connect" will provide a platform for people to submit various forms of creative expression—written pieces, social commentary, poetry, short films, music, and more; there will be no limitations as long as the work provides some type of thorough thinking that will be valuable to share. Creators can choose to remain anonymous or share their names and contacts for further discussions with interested viewers. Each piece of work will be accompanied with a forum for thoughtful, reflective discussion that should show appreciation and respectfulness.
I hope that “The Connect” can spark an anti-cultural trend where, instead of living a void life constructed by self-created anxiety, we can open up ourselves to others and think about what truly matters in our lives. Let’s think actively and keep our eyes open for the nuanced melodies of life that hold genuine truth and meaning.
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