Let’s be honest: we’re all a little confused right now. Socially confused. Emotionally confused. Existentially… doing our best.

Because somehow, we’re experiencing two completely opposite problems at the exact same time: connection fatigue and connection famine.

We’re drowning and starving. Overstimulated and underfed. Surrounded by people but craving someone. Exhausted by notifications yet desperate for a real conversation that lasts longer than a voice note. It makes absolutely no sense, and yet here we are. Scrolling, sighing, texting “sorry just saw this,” and pretending our phones don’t give us mild heart palpitations.

Grab a glass of wine, and let’s dive into it..

Connection Fatigue

This is the kind of tired that isn’t physical, it’s psychic.

It’s what happens when you’re bombarded with micro-interactions all day long. Likes. Comments. Story replies. Group chats with 47 unread messages that say things like “omg same.” The constant digital hum that tricks your brain into thinking you’re communing with your people when, in reality, you’re just tapping on glass like a trained pigeon.

By the time someone invites you out, you’re done. Depleted. You have nothing left to give except a polite “maybe!” and a prayer that the universe intervenes. Because you should want to see people. You really should. It’s just… there’s nothing left in the tank. You’ve spent it all performing social life instead of living it.

Connection Famine

And then, in the same breath, you feel… lonely? Like, weirdly lonely. You’re interacting all day but connecting with absolutely no one. You’re surrounded but untouched. You’re chatting but not talking. You’re posting but not known.

It’s the modern paradox: overstimulation without nourishment. Like eating a whole bag of chips and realizing you’re still starving. Or FaceTiming your friends one after one in a one week and suddenly remembering you have no idea what it feels like to sit across from someone. Smell someone. Read someone’s energy without a buffer of pixels.

Connection famine is what hits you at 11PM when your apartment is quiet and your brain goes, “When was the last time I actually felt close to someone?”

So what do we do when we’re both drained and deprived?

Here’s the trick we’re not taught: Connection isn’t about more. It’s about better.

You don't need more chats. You need more presence.
You don't need more matches. You need more moments.
You don't need more “we should hang out.” You need “thank fuck we actually did.”

The cure for connection fatigue is not retreating, it’s replacing the fake stuff with the real stuff. And the cure for connection famine is not adding more digital noise, it’s making space for in-person nourishment.

One solves the other. They’re not separate monsters; they’re two heads on the same dragon.

This is exactly why Joe and I rebuilt First Round’s On Me from the ground up. We wanted a world where connection stops being a job and starts being a joy again. Where plans don’t feel like obligations. Where people don’t hide behind endless “wyd?” loops. Where hanging out doesn’t require a dissertation-length group chat. FROM forces simplicity in a world addicted to overwhelm. Drink, time, place, and with who.

That’s it. Four decisions. Then you show up, breathe, be human, and get rewarded for doing the thing your nervous system has wanted all along.

What we crave, what we’re starved for, is the kind of connection that fills, not frays. The kind that steadies you. The kind that tethers you back to yourself. The kind that reminds you you’re a person with a heartbeat, not an avatar with a data plan.

So next time you feel that familiar “ugh” when your phone lights up, ask yourself: Is this fatigue? Or is it famine? Am I overwhelmed? Or just undernourished?

The answer will tell you exactly what you need. Until next time x