Socially Apt – Book Review
Rebuilding Human Connection in a Culture of Retreat
By Paris Song
I was very excited to get a review copy of this book that BookBoost called “Sharp, humane, and quietly radical.” This book couldn’t have come along at a better time for me, and I think a lot of you may agree. Join me as I tell you a bit more about the book, why I enjoyed it, and why you may want to read it, too.
After the introduction, the book is split into 14 chapters, to follow up with some final words, acknowledgements, and references. Each chapter has a title, which gives you a little hint at what it’s going to be about, and the whole book begins with The Age of Isolation.
In a world as connected as ours today, you may not think about how isolated we truly are. But this book explains that while we have our phones, social media, Google, instant news 24/7, and ability to call and text at all times, loneliness is an epidemic. The very first chapter alone will have you looking at your own life and the world around you differently.
Socially Apt also goes into the science behind loneliness, so it’s not just philosophical and it’s not all doom and gloom, because the purpose of the book is to create change and provide hope.
What most of us don’t realize is that we use the apps, the doomscrolling, and the texting to simulate social life while also withdrawing from it. But Paris Song has a practical, incisive, and methodical answer to this crisis.
In this book we are introduced to the Interaction Quotient. This is a practical framework for rebuilding your capacity to be with others in more meaningful ways. It’s not about becoming a social butterfly or the most popular person around. It’s about forming real human connections.
And if you’re not convinced yet, there is a section on the cost of loneliness that will help you understand the importance of it. From there, it goes into solutions.
While the book is fairly short and straightforward, it deals with heavy topics that really make you think, so you may find yourself wanting to work through it slowly. I enjoyed having my journal beside me as I read so that I could jot down the thoughts that surfaced for me as I read.
The chapter “Pandemic Shadows” talks about the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on the world and how we view isolation. But Song explains that “Disconnection wasn’t created by COVID. It was clarified by it.”
Sections on community and how we build community are so profound, but it also explains how and why community itself is not enough. And then we learn the key to fixing this problem: Social Aptitude. This was one of the most interesting chapters to me. Getting to really learn and understand the concept of social aptitude was eye-opening.
From there, we learn how to be more socially apt. We learn how to practice friendship. We learn to overcome common barriers. And we also learn about the weight of modern love. It’s a book that will change your life. And quite possibly, it’s a book that can change the world.
I will be thinking about this book for a long time, re-reading sections, and talking to others about it. Get it for yourself here.