Welcome to the Lab… and Today: In this episode of The Human Petri Dish, we don our goggles and drop the petri‑dish lid on the question: Can a relationship exist in time — especially when it’s digital?

Hosted by Andrew Boyton (leadership theorist, relational researcher, psychotherapist‑in‑lab‑coat) we plunge into the slippery world of virtual connection, online attachments and “real‑time” vs “virtual‑time” relationships.

• Explore the query: “Are relationships real online?” — do they hold the same substance, texture, duration and resonance as their offline counterparts?
• Investigate how time works (or doesn’t) in digital relationships — asynchronous chats, “seen” ticks, ephemeral stories, delayed responses.
• Unpack the hidden forces: presence vs absence, physical proximity vs algorithmic proximity, continuity vs interruption.
• Hear expert voices and lived‑experience stories that challenge assumptions, puncture myths, and raise new questions rather than tidy answers.

In a world where we swipe, message, filter, ghost and double‑tap our way through connection, this episode asks: what is the reality of a relationship when time is flattened, fragmented or manipulated? Understanding this isn’t just curious—it’s essential for our personal lives, our leadership roles, our teams, and the culture of connection we’re building.

You’ve ever found yourself wondering whether a late‑night DM counts as “relationship time”, you’ve felt the ghost of a video‑call linger, or you lead—or follow—others in hybrid, digital‑first environments that test how we connect, commit, and covenant.

Subscribe, rate & review this show wherever you listen. Follow the lab online. Share your own virtual‑connection stories and join the conversation with our hashtag community.

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