We have traded deep connections for shallow comforts, and honestly, that’s the central tension of modern life. It feels like we’re all chasing convenience at the cost of community, and the price we pay is a quiet, gnawing sense of loneliness. This isn’t just a philosophical idea; it’s a trade-off we feel in our bones every single day.
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Meaning
We’ve sacrificed meaningful, challenging relationships for easy, convenient, but ultimately unfulfilling distractions.
Explanation
Let me break it down for you. The “deep connections” Junger is talking about are the bonds forged through shared struggle, mutual reliance, and a real sense of purpose—the kind you find in a tight-knit community, a platoon, or even a family facing hardship together. They’re messy. They’re demanding. But they give life its richest meaning. Now, the “shallow comforts”? That’s the entire modern package. It’s the curated perfection of social media, the convenience of food delivery that means you never have to break bread with your neighbors, the entire infrastructure designed to make life frictionless. And the problem is, that friction is often where connection happens. We’ve outsourced our need for a tribe to a series of comfortable, isolated transactions.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Life (320) |
| Topics | comfort (14), connection (265), modernity (6), values (51) |
| Literary Style | minimalist (442), poetic (635) |
| Emotion / Mood | somber (55), truthful (22) |
| Overall Quote Score | 81 (258) |
Origin & Factcheck
This powerful line comes directly from Sebastian Junger’s 2016 book, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, published in the United States. You won’t find it in his other works like The Perfect Storm, and it’s sometimes misattributed to other social commentators, but its home is firmly in Tribe.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Sebastian Junger (60) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Sebastian Junger is born in Belmont, United States on 1962. He studied cultural anthropology at Wesleyan University and built his career in journalism. He is the one of the leading contributor and editor at Vanity Fair. Along with Tim Hetherington, he codirected Restrepo(2010 American documentary), which went on to win Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and an Academy Award nomination. The Sebastian Junger book list includes The Perfect Storm, Tribe, A Death in Belmont, Freedom, War, and In My Time of Dying, each marked by distinct writing style
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | We have traded deep connections for shallow comforts |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 2016; ISBN: 978-1-4555-6638-6; Last edition: 2017; Number of pages: 192. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 3: In Bitter Safety I Awake, Approximate page 79 from 2017 edition |