Need More Social Connection? Try Improv
The reason I think improv is so popular is the social connection it provides.
We are in a time where social media has become a substitute for social connections. It has become like an artificial sweetener — we know it's not good for us, but we feel the benefits outweigh the dangers.
Our dependency on social media as a substitute for real connection has gotten so bad that many high school kids aren't even bothering to get their drivers licenses because they don't have any urgency to hang out with friends in real life. They can just message them from home, and that’s the same as being with them, right?
Well, not exactly. Seeing pictures of other people's lives is not the same as being with them in person.
The amount of screen time that most people consume a day is staggering. In fact, a study published in Entrepreneur reported that the average Millennial spends 18 hours a day consuming media, and often multiple forms at once.
Today, we are more connected to our devices than to people.
How many times have you seen a group of people walking down the street and most of them are on their phones, even in the presence of other people? And Zoom is convenient, but if it's overused, it can cause isolation. And all of that isolation can lead to depression.
The opposite of isolation is connection, which is what you get in an improv class. That’s why improv, either in a class or group, is more important than ever.
And whenever you get a group of people together with the same goal in mind, which is to play, joy usually ensues.
And that’s one thing we all could use more of.