Why People Do Not Have Time For Love

Discover why love and human connection are fading in our fast-paced, screen-obsessed world—and how we can reclaim meaning before it's too late.

By Javier Ramon Brito

In our hyperconnected world, where attention is splintered and time is consumed by an unrelenting flood of information, one quiet casualty has gone largely unnoticed: love. I mean not just romantic love, but human connection in its purest forms—compassion, empathy, presence, kindness and emotional generosity. These vital elements of a meaningful life are fading, crowded out by screens, status updates, and the endless chase for achievement.

Overloaded Minds, Starved Hearts

Modern society has burdened the individual with an overwhelming cognitive load. People are literally drowning in information. At both work and in personal life, people are expected to digest mountains of emails, texts, articles, social media posts, and news updates—constantly. We are bombarded with data, often mistaking the act of processing information for meaningful living. In this mental saturation, there is little bandwidth left for the slower, subtler rhythms of beauty and human connection.

Love requires time, attention, presence and emotional space. Yet in today’s accelerated life, these are luxuries many feel they can’t afford. When every moment is measured in efficiency or productivity, there is no room for tenderness. The result? Love becomes a neglected corner of life, a background noise in a world obsessed with busyness.

Eyes on the Screen, Hearts Offline

Take a look around at any restaurant, subway station, or even a family dinner. You name it. The scene is often eerily similar: people hunched over their cell phones, thumbs tapping rapidly, minds absorbed elsewhere. The smartphone has become both a lifeline and a leash, connecting us to the world while disconnecting us from the person sitting right in front of us.

We are present in body, but absent in mind. We listen with half an ear, speak in fragments, and often miss the deeper currents of emotion flowing through our conversations. This erosion of real listening is not just bad manners—it’s the slow death of empathy.

Chasing Illusions: The Zombie March of Modern Life

Influenced by mass media, society holds up a very narrow image of what success looks like—fame, wealth, social influence, and constant achievement. Many have internalized this narrative in their subconscious minds and are therefore locked in an endless, exhausting pursuit of these external goals.

But here’s the paradox: the more people chase these dreams, the more disconnected they feel. Like hamsters on a wheel, they run fast but go nowhere, driven not by their personal passions or authentic purpose, but by mere comparison and competition. The result is a generation walking like zombies—eyes open, hearts closed, souls numbed by the noise. It is sad.

Kindness and Love: Endangered Practices

In this frenzied environment, where everyone is rushed and overstimulated, small acts of kindness often seem inconvenient. Holding the door, asking someone how they really are, giving time without expecting anything in return—these gestures are increasingly rare. Love, which thrives on these small acts, is being starved out of existence.

And without love, what remains? Just the shell of living. Days filled with activity but lacking meaning. Lives scheduled down to the minute, but empty at the core.

The Dehumanization of Life

So many people today live lives that are, at their core, hollow. They may have packed calendars and bustling careers, but they lack depth. There’s no room for silence, for introspection, for presence. They have lost their inner compass, guided instead by algorithms and external metrics of success.

In this condition, the soul withers. People become mechanical—efficient, maybe, but emotionally impoverished. Relationships suffer. Families fracture. And beneath the surface of society’s gleaming productivity lies a vast, unspoken loneliness.

Reclaiming the Spirit: Before It’s Too Late

We must act before this condition becomes permanent. If we are to reclaim our humanity, we must first slow down. We must counter the dominant narrative that everything must be seen in terms of competition and productivity. That everything must be optimized, monetized, or commodified.

Here are some good starting points for reflection and change:

• Prioritize Presence: Put the phone down. Look people in the eyes. Listen with intention. Let your attention be the gift you give.

• Value Connection Over Competition: Recognize that life is not a race to be won but a journey to be shared. Celebrate cooperation, not just personal triumph.

• Make Time for Love and Kindness: Schedule time for those you care about. Perform acts of kindness, not for recognition, but to affirm your humanity.

• Redefine Success: Move beyond external metrics. Ask yourself what truly matters. Is it applause, or inner peace? Is it money, or meaning? Is it fame or health?

• Reclaim the Soul of Life: Seek out silence, art, nature, and spirituality—whatever reconnects you to something larger than yourself.

In the end, the choice is ours. We can continue on the path of distracted disconnection, or we can begin to restore love and humanity to the center of our lives. Not with grand gestures, but with daily intention and perseverance. The time to wake up is now—before we forget what it even means to be fully alive.