I was recently interviewed for an article where I was asked for steps that each of us can take to proactively help to heal our country. My answer ⬇️ Unplug to reconnect: Social media has become the main outlet and focal point for so many people, yet it’s anything but social. For millions of Americans, their community has been taken away from them and replaced with something inherently isolating, keeping them tethered to a screen. Social media and partisan media have a vested interest in maintaining a divide. Add to that the onslaught of misinformation and algorithms designed to feed us a one-sided narrative, and we find a landscape designed to trigger discourse and reaction. This has led us to becoming more accustomed to speaking at each other, rather than with one another. It’s the responsibility of each of us to pick our heads up from the screen, and talk to our neighbors and community that surround us. And not through online forums...I’m talking about real world interactions. These relationships are critical to our own mental health and well-being, as well as taking a step towards healing as a collective nation. Also, I realize the irony in posting on social media that one of the main problems we face today is in fact social media. But I also understand that a life that only exists online is not a life that any of us should want to live. Get outside. Talk to your neighbors. Live beyond a screen. #unplug #reconnect #getoutside #socialmedia #live