Difficult Times, Adult Bonding, and Returning to the ‘90s

If you say you’re sharing in 2026, most people assume you mean something on social media. The older crowd will remember a time when sharing was at the scale of mostly in-person, one-to-one, or one-to-some. 

There’s something distant about sharing one to many in the social media age. 

While I’m not such an old guy that I’m advocating for not having a social media presence, I am saying that there’s a universal human binding agent that continues the test of time. That binding agent is experiencing hardship together.  

Frankly, it doesn’t take more than thirty minutes with someone to realize that you’re not the only one going through something. And, frankly, the sharing of that experience is crucial for bonding, human connection, purpose, and oftentimes a way through. 

We need connection more than ever and most people that are closest in families, teams, and social circles are the ones experiencing shared suffering. The gym can even become a proxy for this. It’s almost a way into that level of connection. 

If you’re struggling to feel connected, pretend it’s 1996 and do it that way.