Connected to Everyone… Present With Few
- Mark Johnson
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
“In today’s social media absorbed world most people are connected to everyone… and present with few — the new definition of loneliness.”
I turned 68 on May 25th. Over the weekend I spent time away at Myrtle Beach with someone very close to me. It was our first time there, and it was wonderful.
The ocean.
The smells.
The sun.
The conversations.
The laughter.
The stillness.
The feeling of simply being present and alive.
It gave me time to reflect.
At 68, I feel deeply grateful for my life and the many real friends and family that I am close to.
Not because everything has always been perfect, but because my life and my relationships have always been intentional…
I’ve spent decades living with goals, vision, commitment, direction, focus, and appreciation for possibility.
I’ve always looked into the future and seen opportunities waiting to be manifested by dates of my own choosing. I’ve always believed life could become more… And as a result, it has done just that…
There has always been one realization that keeps becoming clearer to me:
The future leaves hints and traces of itself in the present.
But to notice those hints, you have to actually be present. And sadly, that’s becoming increasingly rare.
The Modern Addiction to Distraction
As I sat by the pool and walked along the beach, I noticed something that honestly made me a little sad.
People were everywhere physically… but mentally somewhere else.
Parents scrolling while children played in the pool. Young people sitting together scrolling.
Couples staring into separate screens.
Groups of friends together in silence while endlessly surfing social media feeds.
People standing in front of one of the most beautiful natural environments in the world while staring into a six-inch device.
And I thought to myself:
We are becoming a society that struggles to experience life directly.
So many people wake up every morning and immediately exit their physical reality and enter the virtual world:
Instagram
Snapchat
Facebook
LinkedIn
TikTok
endless streams of content
And while technology itself is not bad, the constant distraction that comes with it, comes at a high cost…
Presence disappears.
Awareness fades.
Human connection weakens.
Life starts being observed through a screen, like a spectator, instead of being experienced directly like a player on the field.
Presence Is a Form of Wealth
One of the greatest forms of wealth in life is the ability to be fully present in a moment.
To:
feel the sun
hear the birds
watch the waves
appreciate someone’s smile and the sound of their voice
listen deeply during conversation
observe the beauty of spring
sit quietly without needing stimulation every few seconds
Presence slows life down enough for you to actually experience it.
But the irony is this:
Many people are more connected than ever digitally… yet lonelier than ever emotionally.
Because connection is not the same thing as presence. You can scroll through posts from hundreds of people while feeling disconnected from life itself, and lonelier than ever, never realizing that you have the power to reconnect through presence at any moment.
Life Is Happening Now
One of the things I’ve learned over 68 years is that life is not happening later. It’s happening now.
Right now in the present.
Not after one more scroll.
Not after one more notification.
Not after one more distraction.
The moments that eventually become the memories of your life are happening in real time while you are alive enough to experience them in the presence of and with real people.
And many people are missing them.
Not because life lacks opportunity… but because their attention is constantly being captured elsewhere.
Attention Shapes Experience
What consistently captures your attention eventually shapes your experience of life.
If your attention is constantly fragmented, your life begins to feel fragmented.
If your attention is constantly consumed by noise, comparison, outrage, stimulation, and distraction, it becomes harder and harder to access stillness, gratitude, creativity, intentionality, or peace.
This is why presence matters so much.
Presence reconnects you:
to yourself
to other people
to nature
to gratitude
to awareness
to possibility
to life itself
And honestly, the best moments of my birthday trip had nothing to do with social media or my phone (except to use it as a camera) at all.
They were simply real moments:
conversations
laughter
reflection
walking on the beach
appreciating another human being
appreciating being alive
That’s where life actually lives.
Try This
I want to challenge you to do something simple. Create one social-media-free day a month.
One full day.
No scrolling.
No surfing.
No checking what everybody else is doing.
Maybe send a text or take a phone call if necessary—but no endless consumption of digital noise.
Instead:
go outside, to the park maybe
talk to 3 people that really matter in your life
notice the world
read
think
walk
reflect
create
dream
and engage with someone new face to face
Listen to the birds.
Watch the trees moving in the wind.
Notice the sky.
Smell the scents of spring.
Say hello to someone.
Let humanity back in.
And see what happens to your mind and life.
Invest 5 Minutes to Snap Yourself Into a New Reality
Ask yourself:
When was the last time I experienced a full day of true presence?
Not distraction.
Not stimulation.
Not endless consumption.
But actual presence with real human to human engagement…
Then ask:
What moments of my life might I be missing while looking into a screen?
Write down three. Then commit to get them back before it is too late.
Here’s the Real Insight
In today’s social media absorbed world most people are connected to everyone… and present with few — the new definition of loneliness.
But presence is still available.
And perhaps one of the most revolutionary things you can do today… is simply put the phone down and fully experience your life…
—-
Namaste 🙏🏾
Mark Johnson
May 28 2026
Comments