Telling stories used to be a way to find each other. Through them, we built meaning and belonging. Narratives shaped what we shared and kept us together in the face of uncertainty. But something changed. Today, storytelling has been captured by the market. Brands and companies have turned it into a method for selling packaged emotions, replacing the truth of connection with the efficiency of impact.

Storytelling no longer arises from the desire to communicate but from the need to persuade. It’s used to direct attention, shape perception, and keep us within the same cycle of consumption. What once united us is now exploited. Recovering storytelling as a human act rather than a commercial one may be the first step toward hearing what we truly have to say to one another.