Virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and social media is very quickly redefining the way we relate, interact and perceive our world, highlighting an era of rapid technological advancement where one’s digital profile is beginning to supersede the importance of physical connection.

The Human Connection Movement, an innovative social enterprise founded by Igor Kreyman, is pioneering a way to raise awareness on the benefits of face-to-face communication, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.

THCM is a global organisation that creates, enables and inspires personal, organisational and community wide change by educating individuals on the importance of cultivating empathy in order to recognise and reduce connective barriers that restrict individuals from communicating effectively.

Igor emphasies that we’ve become increasingly fixated on how we are being perceived online, therefore placing more urgency towards living our lives through our digital avatars rather than placing more attention towards connecting and nurturing our relationships with our friends and family, face-to-face.

Every day we spend more of our time dissecting third party information on social platforms which have evolved into advertising networks and misleading news funnels. We’re being bombarded with endless arrays of content that is usually deceptive or one-sided and it’s no longer unusual for us to consistently observe morally unjust behaviour become normalised.

Although technology has provided us with a multitude of entry points to connect with people around the world, it still raises the question as to whether the actual physical, emotional, and mental benefits derived from these digital connections can match or sustain the same level of output that is experienced through face-to-face connection.

We have effectively entered a period where it could be argued that due to our limited visibility around the upturn of the technological revolution, that we now carry a significant amount of responsibility to ensure there is a balanced reform within the biologically governed narrative that is intermeshing with artificial intelligence and our ability to understand the effects of this self-cognizant neural-network which is able solve complex problems at a rate that far supersedes our own human ability to do so.

We are living in a time where our diligence, and ability to discern the integrity and feasibility of the potential outcomes that may occur as a result of this technological revolution is of paramount importance. So the question to ask is will this have direct influence on the natural course of the evolutionary chain of events that occur within the scope of our spiritual, mental, physical and emotional development?

We are currently at a tipping point within our society where empathy has the ability to generate social impact that extends beyond our sphere of influence. Being able to understand what others are feeling as though we are feeling it ourselves can radically change the way humanity interacts with each other.

It is now our responsibility to swiftly educate ourselves to understand the implications of this current paradigm shift to ensure that any potential communicative distortion that may promote separation and division that has been concurrently witnessed in our digital and physical reality, doesn’t find an outlet to continue to encompass itself through the new products and tools that become available to us over the coming months and years.

In order for our own learning processes which are governed by our emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and self-referential awareness to have a balanced relationship alongside the technological advancements that are transpiring, there needs to be an analysis, report and practical demonstration of specific platforms that display and validate the real-time benefits occurring within human brain, mind and heart on a physiological level so the public can witness the therapeutic  benefits that occur when there is genuine connection present between humans.

One method of illustrating this is through observing electrical impulses in the brain, (EEG) and heart (ECG) in the form of 2 individuals sustaining eye contact. The key focus would be using the visual data to display which parts of the brain and heart interrelate amongst the participants with the purpose of demonstrating the therapeutic benefits that occur through eye contact.

A recent study suggests that providing this real-time practical experience will give us the ability to assert responsibility within ourselves, and to those who feel powerless in the events of great change to help us simplify our lives with the objective of highlighting the most significant behaviours that can increase the quality of connection amongst humans.

For this type of development to be orchestrated there would be a collaborative network of artists, scientists, thought leaders, coders, designers, and industry professionals all working together to enable strategic global partnerships that would bring awareness to the workings of the mind, heart, and body in a way that illustrates how our interconnection can influence our collective reality and create social change in the face of rapid technological advancement.

A recent Harvard study suggests that the actual quantifiable, life affirming quality that influences us in our lives comes down to the consistent amount of quality connection that we get to experience every day. So if we can create meaningful experiences within our relationships that explore our humanity and ties to each other, then we can learn to steer the technological narrative to bring balance to our lives.

The way that the The Human Connection Movement, tackles these challenges is through facilitating structural change on a systemic level by providing the public with tools and practices that identify and deliver the importance of effective intergroup and interpersonal communication and its role in developing greater emotional intelligence, self-awareness, confidence and overall human fulfilment.

THCM is an Australian based social enterprise that facilitates global meditation, wellness events and workshops as well as offering tailored corporate solutions to assist with culture management. They have partnered with immersive festivals and well recognised institutions to bring greater awareness to the benefits of empathy, interpersonal and inter-group connection.

Within the corporate space their specialty lies in assisting with high disengagement, staff turnover, low productivity, stress management, mindfulness, health and wellness as well as the necessary skills needed to communicate and collaborate more effectively amongst differing teams and organisational structures.

For information on how to get involved with this organisation or if you are an employer looking for a corporate or industry package please click here.

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Igor Kreyman is a film actor, speaker, social change agent and Founder of The Human Connection Movement. His most recent acting role was in upcoming feature film, “One Less God,” (2018) which won the Grand Jury Prize & Industry Choice award at Dance’s With Film’s Festival, Los Angeles, CA, as well as the top prize at the Byron Bay Film Festival, Sydney, Australia. Igor has appeared on several documentaries including, VICELAND, ABC Catalyst and German Psychology Magazine; “Emotion”, in the same segment as Performance artist, Marina Abramovic who was his inspiration behind The Human Connection Movement. Within the last few years he has been appeared on; The Guardian, News.com.au, Daily Mail Australia, News Corp – Body and Soul Magazine, ABC – Triple J Hack, SBS, ABC TV Prime Time News, ABC Radio with Chris Taylor, Sverige Radio Sweden, PlayGround, Canvas (NZ Herald) and assisted SBS with casting of their TV documentary series “Look Me In The Eye”.