What if your phone is having an affair with you?

In this episode of Music Is Therapy, DJ Hesta Prynn sits down with Mark Groves — human connection specialist, founder of Create The Love, and host of the top-ranked Mark Groves Podcast (19M+ downloads) — to talk about why we’re all feeling so far apart, even when we’re physically together.

Fresh off sobbing through Hadestown — where Orpheus writes a song so beautiful it melts walls and reminds people they’re capable of love — Hesta asks:

Where is that song in 2026?

Why does everyone — including her — feel emotionally distant from the people they love?

Mark doesn’t sugarcoat it.

He breaks down exactly how social media mirrors abusive relationship dynamics, why healing can’t happen in isolation, and why the best thing you can do on a date might be leaving your phone at home.

This conversation is about presence. Choice. Attention. And what it actually means to show up — not once, but daily.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Social Media as Abusive Partner: How Instagram mirrors unhealthy relationship dynamics — nothing is ever enough, the algorithm is mysterious, and intermittent rewards keep you hooked
• The Phone as the Third Person: Why Mark leaves his phone at home on dates and takes one day a week using a Light Phone
• Instagram Sabbatical: Mark’s six-month break after asking, “I’m not an anxious person — so why do I have anxiety?”
• “Everything Must Be Healed in Relationship”: Why you can’t fix yourself alone and then bring perfection into partnership
• Insert Choice Where You Think There Is None: Mark’s challenging reframe on feeling stuck, resentful, or disconnected
• The Manipulation of Hooks: Why both of us refuse to build platforms on “Here are 5 things you NEED to know” urgency
• The Return to Analog: Vinyl, dumb phones, tactile experiences — and what they say about our craving for real presence
• Music as State-Shifter: From China by Tori Amos* to You've Got the Love by Florence and the Machine*, how the right song pulls you back into being human

This Episode Is For You If:

You’ve checked your phone instead of looking at your partner

You feel like you’re living parallel lives with someone you love

You’ve asked, “When did we stop being present?”

You suspect your anxiety might not be your personality

Monthly Playlist

The Love and Happiness Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/07iyBQcQJtSw3PXw7i6S7t?si=a40a5a28e15c42ff 

Featured Songs:

"You've Got the Love" – Florence + The Machine: The song Hesta plays coming out of the subway to remember she's alive:  https://open.spotify.com/track/6u9RqxALwkjJ1ukB1y8vuP?si=f419c15c78264f8e 

"China" – Tori Amos: The teenage anthem about distance that still resonates 30 years later: https://open.spotify.com/track/08OXkYqqvhE7vjTzA9fVKk?si=705963cd1fac4a9b 

"Hope" - NF: https://open.spotify.com/track/12cZWGf5ZgLcKubEW9mx5q?si=61e2a1eb2c944973 

Connect with Mark Groves

• Instagram: @itsmarkgroves
• Podcast: Mark Groves Podcast
• Website: MarkGroves.com
• Book: Liberated Love (co-authored with Kylie McBeath)

Connect with Hesta

• Instagram: @HestaPrynnMusic
• Substack: hestaprynn.substack.com 
• Music Connection Therapy Course: mct.hestaprynn.com 
• Have a question you want DJ Hesta Prynn to answer? 📩 musicistherapypod@gmail.com 

Got the song that melts walls in 2026? Send it to Hesta — maybe we can build it together.