Why Men Are So Lost Right Now (And What To Do About It) Hint: It's About The Playground Principles

Reclaiming Connection in a Disconnected World: The Playground Principles with Barry Kleiman

If you're feeling like something’s missing these days, like we’re all floating around in a digital fog, you're not wrong. And you’re definitely not alone. I recently sat down with Barry Kleiman, author of The Playground Principles, to have a real, no-BS conversation about what we’re losing in the age of automation, remote everything, and swipe-right relationships.

Spoiler: It’s human connection.

We cracked open the conversation with a shared frustration, people today are meaner, more tribal, and far more disconnected than ever before. Barry, a grandfather with San Francisco soul and a heart full of Springsteen quotes, has made it his mission to remind us how powerful and healing simple human connection can be. His book is not about slides and jungle gyms. It’s about the values we learned as kids… compete, don’t cheat, stand up for others, play fair, and how those values have been bulldozed by algorithms and dopamine-driven tech.

Disconnected Kids = Disillusioned Men!

Barry dropped a bomb when he mentioned that young men today spend less time outside than prison inmates. That seems nuts!. We’ve got a generation of men growing up in digital basements, socially awkward, romantically invisible, and more isolated than ever. They’re not lacking intelligence. They're lacking interaction. They're not unmotivated. They're un-mentored. They're not dangerous because of malice. They're dangerous because of disconnection.

The Cost of Disconnection Is Everything Mental health? Shot. Physical health? Declining. Longevity? Compromised. Creativity, community, and culture? All under siege. Whether it’s addiction recovery or team sports, the common denominator for success and survival is connection.

During COVID, I watched close friends in recovery relapse because their support systems vanished overnight. That kind of forced isolation was more lethal than the virus itself for some people. And what’s worse? Many of us got comfortable being disconnected. We let conveniences like delivery apps, remote work, and AI do the heavy lifting, forgetting that real life happens in eye contact, handshakes, hugs, and heated but respectful debates.

Connection Can’t Be Automated. And that’s what this whole episode was about: getting back to what makes us human. Relearning how to connect, offline and on. Because the real flex in today’s world? It’s not followers or funnels. It’s trust, empathy, and the courage to hug someone and mean it. So go make that phone call. Show up unannounced with coffee. Tell your story. Ask for someone else’s and build your own playground. And whatever you do… don’t let automation rob you of the one thing that actually matters…. Connection.

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