Disconnected Together: A Guide to Reclaiming Connection in a Digital World

The constant pull of your screen is not a personal failure-it is a design feature of the device in front of you. A generation has been lured into a state of chronic distraction by companies whose algorithms are engineered to exploit our deepest psychological needs for profit. This is the battle of our time, and the well-being of our children is on the front lines.

In Disconnected Together, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist and a psychologist and psychoanalyst deliver a stunning indictment of the attention economy. They fuse cutting-edge brain science with profound psychoanalytic insights to reveal the full extent of the neurological and emotional damage that has been done. From the fracturing of an infant's trust to the hijacking of an adolescent's identity, they expose a public health crisis hiding in plain sight.

But this is more than an exposé -it is a necessary call to action. The authors argue that individual willpower is no match for this multi-trillion-dollar industry. Making an irrefutable case for the urgent regulation of social media, Disconnected Together provides the blueprint for a movement. It is an essential read for anyone ready to fight for a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around, and genuine human connection can finally be reclaimed.

Karyne E. Messina, EdD, FABP, is a psychologist, psychoanalyst, and author of eight books. She is on the medical staff of Suburban Hospital, a Fellow of the American Board of Psychoanalysts, and hosts the New Books Network podcasts Brain Rot and Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Racism in America.

Harry Gill, MD, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscience PhD who has dedicated his career to helping teens overcome mental health challenges. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at George Washington University and serves as a Medical Director for Embark Behavioral Health.