Faith Hill reminds readers why writing about interpersonal relationships matter
A quick (and somewhat random) note on The Atlantic staff writer.
Feeling a little lost by the headline? I’m writing a short post in conjunction with a class presentation so bear with me. If you’re looking for a new monthly read, keep scrolling! If not, feel free to check out another of my recent posts…
Back to business!
I recently discovered Faith Hill after being gifted an Atlantic subscription for my birthday in July. She's based in my hometown, New York City, and classifies herself as a "reporter covering modern dating." Her X profile notes that she's Carrie if Carrie was Miranda — a nod to Sex and The City fans. Having read her work, I'd have to agree.
Hill began her journalism career as an editorial fellow for The Atlantic’s ideas section in 2018. She has worked her way up through editorial positions and was promoted to a full-time staff writer a little over a year ago. The opinion outlet publishes Hill’s work under the family beat, but her articles cover many interpersonal relationships.
Hill's pieces touch on ideas we all have from time to time but are fleshed out and backed up with solid research. Her most recent article explores FOMO, the fear of missing out. She writes about its origin in our modern-day lingo, the role social media plays in FOMO and the two different types:
Aspirational FOMO identifies an exciting or interesting experience that might make your life fuller.
Herd FOMO is more about being left out of a collective encounter. This is the one that can even elicit a physical response like sweaty palms or a faster heartbeat.
By the end of the article, she restructures how the reader thinks about FOMO. She offers the following:
“Every time, the conversation is a little different; every time, my knowledge of a friend is deepened or complicated, even if that change is barely perceptible. Every so often it turns out that someone really needed me there. The activity isn’t the point, after all; I’m not looking to stack my social résumé with pastimes that make it sound like I had fun. I’m trying to spend the time I have with people I love. And I do fear missing out on that.”
I chose to share Hill’s writing because I find it to be utterly relatable. Topics about people, relationships and culture tend to be undervalued in the face of more serious beats like politics or business. But Hill's work shows that writing about interpersonal connections is important because it impacts all of us. As I embark upon my career, I can only hope it continues to have value in the journalism world.