A lot of things feel like that these days. We're living more connected than we have ever been before but things can still pass us by, and we wonder how on earth we could have missed them. The whole world is literally at our fingertips, but it can still feel like we’re playing catch-up.

There's a great line from The West Wing where speechwriter Sam Seaborn turns to in-house counsel Ainsley Hayes who’s feeling overwhelmed in the fast-talking bustle of Aaron Sorkin’s White House. "We've gotta move fast,” Seaborn says (walking and talking, of course). “It's a short day and a big country".

Living with the world in our pockets has made us all experts at compartmentalising. If we couldn't, we'd be overwhelmed.

But sometimes it is important to step back, see the bigger picture, and not forget that there are real people somewhere on the other end of every push notification raining down our phone screens.

Just this week, High Court justice and royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne delivered his damning final report on the Australian banking industry. He unveiled 76 recommendations which will challenge key aspects of banking, superannuation, financial advice and the rural lending industries.

But under all the paperwork, the sensational arguments, and that one terribly awkward photo shoot with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, there were real people.

Bernie Heald's family lived with the sound of cracking bricks in their Lochinvar home for two years after it was damaged beyond repair by the 2015 super storm because insurance company AAI would not pay their full entitlement. 

Ms Heald gave evidence in the royal commission, and got an apology from an insurance company CEO. She and her family hoped to move into their rebuilt house in April – four years after the storm had ruined it.

The royal commission shows us what can happen when we forget the real people who cannot always stand up for themselves.

Poppy Starr Olsen is another one of those real people.

Olsen, who may have reached peak-teenage-cool this week when she showed use the mini-ramp in her room, is aiming for the 2020 Olympics. An aspiring and inspiring young sports star hoping to go off to wave the home flag and make us all proud.

But that's barely half of this story. 

Before skateboarding was included in the Olympics, boys had more than the lion's share of prize distribution.

“Girls would get $2000 and boys would get $30,000,” Poppy told us.

Olsen, who is also an accomplished artist and self-taught piano player, has relied partly on the sale of jewellery she had created, some of which includes astounding original sketches. There is always more than meets the eye.

It is a big country, and it is a short day, and we do gotta move fast. But if there is one thing we have learned, it never hurts to slow down and look a little closer.