Introducing: Wait, Are We Okay?

A place to pause and think about what’s happening around us — from technology and mental health to community and civic life.

I’ve found myself asking this question a lot lately.

Not in a dramatic, end-of-the-world way (well sometimes…). But more in the middle of ordinary moments like talking with friends, scrolling on social media, listening to younger people describe their plans (or lack there of) for the future, listening to older people describe how different things used to be.

And I just kept thinking (yes Mom, I know this is so Gen Z speak), “Wait, are we okay?”

Right now, in a time when it seems like we should be more connected than ever, more informed than ever, more optimized than ever, we are struggling to actually obtain any of these realities. People are lonelier. Purpose feels harder to pin down. Mental health struggles are widespread. Trust in institutions is thin. Technology moves faster than our norms. Childhood, adolescence, work, and civic life all seem to be shifting at once, without a clear map for how to move through it well.

I decided to launch this Substack because I don’t think these feelings are just personal or generational. I think, in fact – I know, we’re all grappling with them. And I think we should have a space to think through them that’s grounded in curiosity, connection, and the search for a better collective reality.

Why I’m Writing This

I work closely with young people who are trying to build meaningful lives in the middle of all this change. I’ve also spent the last 7 years studying human behavior and how people develop (psychologically, socially, and civically) and thinking about the systems that shape our individual and collective lives.

What I keep noticing is a gap

There’s plenty of commentary telling us what to think, what to optimize, what to fear, or what to fight. Think about the stuff you scroll through and see in just a 10 minute sitting on Reels. It’s honestly overwhelming. Receiving information in this way leaves less room for nuance, less room for bigger picture, less room for slowing down and asking more basic questions. Let’s take a beat:

• What does constant acceleration do to how we think and relate to one another?

• What happens when identity formation happens in public/on social media?

• What does “community” mean when so much of life is mediated by screens?

• How do people develop a sense of purpose when institutions feel distant or untrustworthy?

• What does care look like at a systems level (not just personally, but collectively)?

I am not attempting to provide definitive answers. I am attempting to notice, to think carefully, and to “make meaning” in an era of rapid change.

What This Space Is

Wait, Are We Okay? is a place for thinking out loud about purpose, belonging, technology, mental health, and civic life — and how all of these are intertwined.

We are all human and trying to live our best lives. I’m less interested in the partisan noise, and more interested in what’s actually happening and why it feels the way it does. I care about tradeoffs, systematic incentives, and unintended consequences. I care about how these trends are shaping people and communities at large, especially during formative years.

I also care about agency. Despite all the noise about apathy or dysfunction, I see everyday that Gen Z is a generation trying to live as best they can in conditions they didn’t choose. That effort deserves curiosity and value.

Why the Question Matters

The title of this Substack, “Are we okay?” is supposed to spark that curiosity. It’s a space for checking-in. I hope to use this space to ask ourselves to pause long enough to ask whether the direction we’re headed aligns with the kind of lives (and the kind of society) we want to build. It’s an invitation to reflect and recognize things we may have normalized but are now causing us discomfort – maybe that discomfort is trying to tell us something important.

My hope is that this space helps readers feel less alone in noticing these tensions.

If you’ve ever caught yourself wondering what the heck this all means for us now and in the future – or literally said, “Wait, Are We Okay?”

Let’s think about it together.

Thank you for being along for the ride with me.

-Abby Binder