We have a problem: a failure to communicate. We are a society constantly in search of the next great social media outlet so we can connect with our friends, followers and loved ones. We are immersing ourselves in our social networks and fighting tooth and nail for each new follower. We share everything from random thoughts to weddings with our followers. But where has it all gotten us?

All the world is a stage. I doubt this has ever been more true. Who we are online is but a persona, a character. It is a caricature of a real person. We portray who we want people to see us as. We put forth a convincing act deserving of Oscars, but this isn’t Hollywood, it’s the real world and no one’s paying us to be that person (unless your last name is Kardashian, perhaps). Tangents aside, we have become ghosts in real life, disconnected from our souls which are floating aimlessly online. The saddest thing about this is that we have no idea exactly where that soul is or, in some cases, if it even exists.

What happened to relationships? The value of relationships has been replaced with likes and follows. We have tons of friends with whom we interact constantly, but online. That’s all well and good, but the relationships we have are about as deep as our LCD screens. They don’t even hold their own weight in water. We have traded depth for the multitude. We have opted for imitation over the genuine. This is why the next social media site can’t come fast enough. We’ll never get enough at this rate.

Our souls are aching and crying out. If we believe we were created in the image of The Creator, then we can’t possibly imagine surface level interactions should satisfy our soul’s needs. God is triune, each member intimately in relationship with the others. No one part of God has a secret from the others. Yet, we live entire lives out of the sight of our “best” friends. We have put privacy rules on our lives where anything smacking of weight or substance is labeled as private and no one is let in. All the while, it is our very soul decrying the atrocity we continue to commit against our very selves.

There is hope. I will get to that, but first it is crucial for us to marinate in the bitter sauce we’ve prepared for ourselves. We have to step out of our worlds with population one and begin to breathe again. We’re suffocating, but it’s our own hands around our necks. We have to breathe the fresh air of relationships and connection before we can recognize the undesirability of our current situation. Maybe I’m wrong and should go find some commune out in Montana where I can experience this with a few other fanatics and leave y’all alone. I won’t argue with you, but take a few days and reevaluate. If you see a problem, come back Thursday, otherwise no offense taken. I assure you, we have a major problem: a failure to communicate.