The digital disembodiment of our age has wreaked havoc on my generation. It seems like no one can commit to showing up.

Whereas stories of old emphasized the importance of honesty and integrity — of the sanctity of giving one’s word — these old-fashioned virtues of gentility are largely lost on my digital generation when it comes to RSVPs.

The separation between a digital avatar and the person behind the screen is often described in relation to sinister, online crowing. Whether revolting posts on X, jeering comments on Instagram, or good ol’-fashioned cyberbullying on Facebook, many poisonous words typed online would never be said in person.

But you don’t have to be an online predator to fall prey to the digital–personal dissonance. We all experience — and are necessarily formed by — the inherent detachment between online personas and embodied persons. My generation, the Zoomers, had the great disadvantage of growing up in the gap of this separation.

No other generation has spent more time on a screen in the history of the world than Gen Z (thoughts and prayers to Gen Alpha, who will likely beat us). While much

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