The Tissue Review: Our Favorite Reads, Questions for '24, and Newsletter Resolutions
Every newsletter seems to be sharing a year-end wrap up email this week.
But we’re different.
Kidding! We’re actually much less unique than we thought we were. As our first four months of weekly Connective Tissue newsletters comes to a close, we figured we’d use this moment to reflect on a few questions:
What reads from 2023 left a lasting impression on each of us?
What questions are we holding as we head into 2024?
What resolutions do we have for the newsletter in the new year?
Thanks for your support and for sticking with us over the past few months. Wishing y’all a caring and connected holiday season with your loved ones and friends, and we’ll catch you on the other side of 2024!
- Sam, Eric, + David
Favorite Reads
Since our launch in September, we’ve shared 27 reads, 12 spotlights of organizations, initiatives, and leaders, and 8 pieces of research (all compiled in this Google Sheet). As the year comes to a close, here’s a look back at the reads that really stuck with each of us:
Sam - “He’s a Dab of Glue in a Broken City. Can He Hold It Together?”
More than anything I’ve read this year, this story of Michael Bock, a private security guard in Portland, OR, forces us to confront what happens as we outsource the duties of protection and care to fewer and fewer people. As Bock shares during a phone call with his wife, “I’m neck deep in other people’s pain. I’m out here with a piece of plywood, and I’m trying to hold back the whole ocean.”
Eric - “For People to Really Know Us, We Need to Show Up”
This piece was short, sweet, and powerful. It outlines the increasing need for us to engage in activities which push us to look beyond ourselves and find connection with something bigger: book clubs, dinners with friends, community service projects, etc. I read it and was floored by its simplicity, actionability, and welcoming tone - it really makes the prospect of strengthening social cohesion sound simple (and fun), even if it requires selflessness. I’ll certainly be looking to make a habit of seeking more opportunities for commitment in 2024.
David - “The Loneliest Crowd”
Ian Corbin’s thought piece is a welcomed departure from the current technocratic conversation on loneliness; instead, it challenges us to “get serious again about the deep, dark, difficult human questions” at the heart of this phenomena. Rooted in philosophical and spiritual tradition, this article asks us to consider the role we each play in constructing each other’s perception of the world and in our understanding of what it means to be human. When trying to explain to folks what I am seeking through this social connection work, this is the article I share first.
Questions for 2024
As the philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” While none of us have a sense of what 2024 will hold, here are the questions we’re each sitting with as we look ahead to the new year:
Sam - Will the increased public and institutional interest in isolation and loneliness prove to be durable or a fad?
Driven by the Surgeon General’s Advisory on “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” 2023 was the year that the issues of loneliness and isolation went mainstream in American life. Search trends for “how to make friends” and “where to meet people” reached all-time highs, foundations created action guides for social connection, and policymakers introduced new legislation to address the “loneliness crisis.” With another ultra-polarizing presidential election on the immediate horizon, it is unclear to me whether these issues will gain a durable foothold in America’s institutions and culture, or if they will fade into the background once more.
Eric - Will 2024 be the year in which generations young and old unplug en masse?
Recent years’ evidence, though correlational in nature, points in a single direction: the rise in smartphone adoption, social media usage, and the like has coincided with a rise in rates of anxiety/depression, loneliness/isolation, and other mental and emotional health challenges. Small movements of “disconnectors” have popped up in response of late, though largely in well-to-do circles. Could 2024 be the year in which the tide turns? Imagine TikTok becoming thoroughly uncool, text messages being drubbed by phone calls and coffee shop meetups, and us distributing Connective Tissue via snail mail in lieu of Substack. Ya never know!
David - What new policies, practices, and innovations will we see in 2024 and will they truly make us more connected?
From the start of this newsletter, our goal has been to spotlight the practitioners who have dedicated themselves to connecting people within communities. Given the burgeoning focus on loneliness and isolation as issues, we will likely see a host of new solutions launched across the public, private, and social sectors. Whether it be from startups, policymakers, or someplace else, I am curious to see what innovations take hold. Will they truly bring more people together, or will their solutions simply reinforce the status quo?
Newsletter Resolutions
This whole newsletter has been an experiment and work-in-progress—and it will continue to be that way in the new year. We’re excited to learn and test out new approaches in 2024 - here are a few of our resolutions for the year to come:
Get your feedback. We’ve realized that we learn very little from the data that Substack provides. So, in the new year, we’re planning to reach out individually to our readers to solicit your input on what’s working, what you would like to see more of, and what we can do differently.
Publish more original content. The Q&As and original pieces that we’ve published this year have been our most popular newsletters. In the new year, we’ll look to publish more original content at a more regular cadence. As always, let us know if you have any ideas on people or groups for us to spotlight.
Connect the connectors. Every day, we find ourselves linking up people who are doing the work to strengthen participation and connection within communities. In the new year, we’ll explore opportunities to more intentionally connect the connectors—from launching a digital group to hosting in-person and virtual events.