We didn't change. The world did.

Physical activity was free for 2 million years. Then we had to pay $20/month to get it back. Social connection is next.

For most of human history, movement and connection were built into our survival. We foraged in groups. Worked fields in teams. But industrialization started engineering movement out of our daily lives. Now, digitization, remote work, and frictionless delivery have made social interaction optional.

All of this has happened before and it will all happen again.

We responded to our muscle atrophy by building a $120 billion gym industry. But we don't yet have a vision of how to fix our social health crisis.

I've felt the physical pain. A career spent sitting across from patients all day with my face buried behind a screen all night led to back pain, carpal tunnel, and arthritis, all by age 35. I got physical therapy, then a personal trainer. It took six months just to build the habit, but years later I feel so much stronger. Walking on the sidewalk wrong no longer triggers a 3 day injury.

But the social pains are catching up. A second child. Fully remote work. The slow decline of hangouts with adults I'm not seeing outside of Zoom. It doesn't feel like physical pain, more of a longing. Wanting to connect but not sure how to break through the glass.

I know the research on social fitness. I know how to build and maintain real connection. But I'm clueless as to what this gym should look like. Some people need to learn basic skills. Others just need the opportunity to put in the reps. Some need a trainer. Others might need something that doesn't exist yet. It's never too late to build muscle back. Physical fitness proved this to me. I have to believe social fitness works the same way.

The fitness industry completely emerged because movement wasn't coming back. Now is the time to accept the same is true of social connection.

But what does the social gym look like? I don't know yet. But I know we need to start building it.