A recent study found that our connection to nature has declined by 60% in the past 200 years. That number is staggering. And yet, what it really points to is something much more intimate: the quiet loss of everyday contact with the natural world.
The hum of bees in a meadow.
The cool dampness of moss under your fingertips.
The way the air smells just after it rains.
For many people, these experiences have become rare—or even absent. As a result, when they fade, something inside us fades too.
The Concept of the Extinction of Experience
“The Extinction of Experience” is a term popularized by author Christine Rosen in her book of the same name. It describes the progressive loss of genuine, sensory-rich, in-person experiences as our lives become increasingly mediated through technology.
Instead of being present in the unpredictable, messy reality of direct experience, we often choose the simulated version. Watching a concert through our phone screens. Following a GPS instead of wandering and getting lost. Curating digital moments instead of living the imperfect ones.
Over time, this preference for the digital erodes essential human skills. We lose face-to-face communication, the ability to read non-verbal cues, and even the confidence to navigate the physical world. We also lose the serendipity of unplanned discovery and the creative spark that can emerge from boredom.
Most of all, it can leave us estranged from our own bodies and the presence of others. Emotions become flattened into emojis. Connections are filtered through screens. “Real life” begins to feel like something we scroll past.
Rosen’s work is a reminder. While technology brings convenience, it also comes at a cost. Therefore, if we’re not mindful, that cost is our connection—to ourselves, to each other, and to the living world around us.
Why It Matters
Nature isn’t just scenery. It’s medicine, teacher, and mirror. When we lose touch with it, we risk losing our own grounding. We become more anxious, more disconnected, and more focused on screens than seasons.
In ecology, “extinction of experience” refers to the quiet fading of everyday interactions with nature—moments of wonder that once shaped how we felt connected to the earth. Unlike the sharp shock of losing a forest to fire, this loss is subtle. Instead, it happens quietly. We spend more hours indoors. Children grow up without climbing trees. Weekends fill with errands instead of walks.
The cost isn’t only ecological. It’s deeply personal. Without these connections, we forget what it feels like to belong to something larger than ourselves.
Signs We’re Losing Touch
- The seasons pass, but we notice only the temperature—not the shifts in light or bird migration.
- A walk outdoors feels more like “exercise” than exploration.
- We recognize brand logos more easily than native plants.
- The sounds of traffic drown out the subtler soundtrack of wind, rain, or birdsong.
Individually, these may seem small. Together, however, they show us how far we’ve drifted.
What We Risk
When our connection to nature declines, so does our sense of care for it. It’s harder to protect what we no longer feel part of. On a human level, we risk a life that feels thinner—less textured, less alive—because we’ve cut ourselves off from one of our oldest sources of wonder.
A Gentle Beginning
The good news is that what’s lost is not gone forever. We can begin again in the smallest of ways. Step outside without headphones. Pause to notice the sky. Plant something and watch it grow.
Reconnection doesn’t require grand gestures. In fact, it starts with remembering that nature is not “out there.” It’s here—woven into the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the soil beneath our feet.
When we let these experiences back in, we reclaim more than beauty. Instead, we reclaim belonging.
This reflection is part of a three-part series on reconnecting with nature. In the next piece, I’ll share gentle, practical ways we can rewild daily life and welcome nature back into ordinary moments.