Mental health has historically been misunderstood, and it’s not until recently that we’ve come to realize that ensuring the health of our mind is just as important as the well being of our body. The health of the mind impacts every aspect of human life and society. A healthy mind allows us to interface successfully with the world around us and likewise an unhealthy mind obscures our view of the world, inhibiting our ability to accurately and efficiently interact with it. This is why it is of the utmost importance that we as a society place more emphasis on supporting the mental health of those around us. “Why now?” you may rightfully ask, well the reason is that for as much as the world has benefited from the proliferation of technology it has also caused the erosion of local communities where each individual could find “meaning” and a sense of purpose in the world. Allow me to elaborate, not too long ago it was sufficient for the average purpose to be the best at something in their town. That their town or village recognized them as the best blacksmith or runner was enough to satisfy the natural yearning for the admiration and acceptance of our peers, however, with the introduction of social media being the best at something in your town has significantly dropped in value. Now, for most people, it doesn’t matter that their the best in their town at singing because when they go on the internet they see article after article, video after video, etc.. of people around the world selling out entire arenas and signing multi-million dollar contracts. Whatever you do no longer feels enough, because the range of competition has expanded from your neighbors to the entire planet. From this reality we are witnessing unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety. I am not saying that we need to discard technology but rather that we need to accept that this is how the world works now so we need to start paying more careful attention to how we can support the people of our world who are hurting and having trouble in finding a place for themselves in this world.