Written by Rabbi Benjamin Berger (Summer ’01, ’03) – While Gen Z, those born after 1995, are often known for being “digital natives,” like all humans before them they overwhelmingly crave in-person connection. Their adolescent digital lives are often disrupted in college by life-changing interactions, which we all recall from our own college experiences. Face-to-face connections in classrooms and dormitories, late at night, on the quad, and at the tailgate creates many of the most meaningful developmental moments in their lives until that point. That tribal craving for community leads young people to do the most inspiring and sometimes the most boneheaded or even dangerous things. Of the many assaults of 2020, the deleterious effects of the pandemic on college students and their quest for human connection should rank high.
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