The Evidence
The Numbers Don't Lie
Stone Age brains in Space Age environments. Here's what it's costing us.
7hrs
Avg Daily Screen Time
More time than we spend sleeping, eating, or with family combined
DataReportal 2024 →The Loneliness Epidemic
Despite being more "connected" than ever
Loneliness by Age Group
% reporting frequent loneliness
What Americans Blame
% selecting each factor
Framework Lens
What's happening
52 million Americans experience loneliness daily. The rate is highest among young adults (18-34) at 30%, despite having the most digital 'connections' in history.
What's missing
Face-to-face interaction with a stable tribe. Humans evolved in groups of 50-150 people who saw each other daily.
The Friendship Collapse
The infrastructure of human connection is crumbling
1990 vs 2024
No close friends
10+ close friends
Has a best friend
Framework Lens
What's happening
The number of Americans with no close friends increased 467% since 1990. Those with 10+ close friends dropped 61%.
What's missing
Regular, unstructured time with consistent people. Friendship requires repeated, unplanned interaction.
Mental Health Crisis
The symptoms of environmental mismatch
Anxiety & Depression Rising
Anxiety
Depression
Anxiety by Age Group
% with symptoms in past 2 weeks
Youth Mental Health Crisis
31.9%
Teens with anxiety disorders
+60%
Depression diagnosis increase (5-22)
2017-2021
+52%
Global youth anxiety increase (10-24)
1990-2021
1 in 5
High schoolers considering suicide
20% in 2023
Framework Lens
What's happening
Anxiety increased 17% and depression 16% from 2019-2022. 43% of adults feel more anxious than last year. 1 in 5 high schoolers have considered suicide.
What's missing
Purpose, autonomy, and environmental stability. The brain requires predictable challenges with clear outcomes.
Physical Health Collapse
Bodies designed for movement, fueled with chemicals
Global Obesity Epidemic (millions)
~105M
1975
~200M
1990
~300M
2000
~500M
2010
810M
2020
890M
2022
1.53B
2035
Framework Lens
What's happening
Global obesity rose from 105M (1975) to 890M (2022), heading toward 1.53B by 2035.
What's missing
Movement as transportation and work. Whole foods requiring preparation. Natural hunger/satiety signals.
Screen Time & Attention
Hijacked by algorithms designed to never let go
Daily Screen Time by Generation
How We Spend Our Day
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics + estimates
Teen Screen Saturation
8h 39m
Teens (13-18) daily
41%
Teens with 8+ hours daily
5h 33m
Tweens (8-12) daily
Framework Lens
What's happening
Gen Z averages 9 hours of screen time daily. 49% of people feel addicted to their phones.
What's missing
Attention sovereignty. The brain evolved for finite information environments with natural completion points.
Nature Severance
Evolved in forests, confined to boxes
Weekly Time in Nature (Adults)
Evolutionary Context
99.9%
of our 200,000 year history spent in nature
<7%
of modern waking hours spent outside
Framework Lens
What's happening
60% of adults spend ≤5 hours per week in nature. 99.9% of human evolution occurred in natural environments.
What's missing
Daily exposure to natural light, green spaces, natural sounds, and variable temperatures.
Sleep Deprivation
Circadian rhythms under siege
Sleep Decline Over 70 Years
1942
7.9
hrs/night
2013
6.8
hrs/night
-14%
1+ hour per night
Current Sleep Crisis
1 in 3
Adults not getting 7+ hours
36.1%
46%
Young adults (18-29) getting ≤6 hrs
77%
High schoolers sleep deprived
Not getting 8+ hours
50-70M
Americans with sleep disorders
Framework Lens
What's happening
Average sleep dropped from 7.9 hours (1942) to 6.8 hours (2013). 77% of high schoolers are sleep deprived.
What's missing
Natural light/dark cycles. The circadian system requires bright light in morning and darkness at night.
Ancestral vs Modern
The environmental shift our biology never adapted to
The Data Is Undeniable
These aren't individual failures. They're environmental mismatches.