Trying to satisfy your need for connection with a screen is like putting your hands up to a fireplace on YouTube and wondering why you're still cold.
The fire looks real, sounds real, and might even make you feel something for a moment.
But your body knows.
We evolved in villages of roughly 150 people. Close enough to touch. Close enough to read each other's faces. Close enough for our nervous systems to regulate together just from being in the same room.
That wiring hasn't changed. The village just got replaced with a group chat. And the group chat, no matter how active, just can’t do what a village does.
Connection is a biological need, like sleep or food. We’re starving because we’re drinking strawberry La Croix instead of eating an actual strawberry.
Let’s talk about digital loneliness… 🧡
This is our favorite cure for tech burnout.
Photos from our walk chapters:
Kids on the walk = instant joy. Smiles from San Francisco.
Seeing a core group of regulars form in Detroit is something special. REAL ONES.
“No winter coat for me today! 🙌” — Alison in Columbus, Ohio
“This might have been my favorite walk ever. In one pocket, people were talking about what’s going on in the world. In another, someone asked ‘Do babies have souls?’ It was that beautiful mix of philosophical, practical and personal.” — Cameron in Austin, Texas
(Don’t see your city? We post the photos in each Meetup group after the walk. Otherwise this email would be longer than a CVS receipt.)
🏆 A Columbus regular who came to their first walk with social anxiety months ago volunteered to host the walk. Week after week, they built confidence until it spilled over. That's what happens when you create the right conditions for growth. Shoutout to our host Alison Sumich. 🧡
🏆 One brave woman drove nearly 30 miles to attend the Atlanta walk. She didn't know anyone. She just saw it online and decided it was worth the drive. Epic.
🏆 Catherine Roten in Boone for a “homecoming walk” where regulars Tom and Elaine returned after months away. "Lots of laughs and deep conversations about learning languages, house hunting, and travels to Germany and Costa Rica. It was wonderful to see how they've grown close even outside the walks." That's the whole mission.
She came to her first walk nervous. Stayed for five miles. Left unable to explain what happened… but started going to bed early on Fridays to make it each week.
That's the story we keep hearing. Over and over, across 10+ cities, since 2022. People think they're joining a simple walking club, but they discover a ritual that our bodies crave but rarely find these days: physical proximity, shared experience, and conversation that doesn't have an edit button.
We designed the walks with nature in mind, and the science is more beautiful than you'd expect. When two people are emotionally attuned to each other, their brain waves start to sync. Actually sync, not metaphorically. Your heart rate follows. Your breathing follows. There's a biological conversation happening beneath the words that a screen can’t replicate.
And then there's silence. One of our London walkers described a moment where the whole group went quiet for two minutes and just walked together. "It wasn't awkward," she said. "It was peaceful. Like we all finally exhaled together."
That's the power of co-regulation in a safe and accepting space, where you can be yourself without needing to perform. That's what the group chat can't give you.
The full reflection is on our site — with a dash of science and five things you can try this week to start rebuilding IRL connection.
This week on The Board Walks, people brought these topics:
"How does loneliness show up for you personally?"
"Is AI friendship a good idea?"
"Would social media usage go down if Screen Time was public?”
“What makes spontaneous conversation feel so different from a planned catch-up?”
"Why is busyness worn as a badge?"
Screenshot these. Steal with pride. Bring one to your next group hang to shift the conversation from “meh” to marvelous.
Quick hits:
🎉 New City Alert: The Board Walks are coming to Sacramento, California! Join our awesome host Megan Farrell for 5 miles and meaningful conversations. If you know anyone out there, invite them! Find your chapter →
(Fun fact: Megan and I have known each other since preschool. This is THE coolest way to reconnect!)
✨ Expansion News: Megan isn’t the only new host... we’ve just accepted 3 more epic people, bringing us to 14 cities. Any guesses on where the walks are going next? 👀 Add your city to the list →
Last but not least…
🔐 The Board is almost here. The inner circle of the walks. Global, curated, application-only. Join the waitlist.
From a walk in Austin last week, someone said:
"I didn't realize how lonely I was until I wasn't anymore."
They said it so casually, like everyone already knew.
But nobody does, until they do.
So here's your question for the week: What would change if you treated your need for in-person connection the same way you treat sleep?
Not a luxury or something you'll get to when things calm down. A biological requirement. Non-negotiable. Built into the week like meals.
And here’s your challenge for this week: Pick one IRL thing and actually put it in your calendar before you close this email.
Bonus points if it’s a recurring event, because our bodies love rhythm. Let’s graduate from the social purgatory of "I should do that." A time, a place, a person. Maybe even a Saturday morning walk. 👀
Consider this your official invitation to join our weekly walking village.
Saturday morning. Five miles. Conversations that go places. No phones, no pitching, no pressure to perform.
Just humans being human. Together.
Have a whimsical week,
Founder of The Board Walks
P.s. If you know someone who needs this (someone who keeps saying they’re "too introverted" or “too tired" to go out), send them the walks. That's how this whole thing started. Eight people. Word of mouth. Little villages forming again, one conversation at a time. 🧡
