Can anybody help?

I have waist length hair, which has been breaking the last couple weeks with brushing. I notice that it tends to shed in many small pieces though - around 1 inch in length. After brushing my hair thoroughly there will be a dozen or so of these small pieces of hair laying on my bathroom counter. And I’ve noticed that you can see my scalp when I part my hair in the middle and it’s making me really insecure as I’m only 21 and feel like I’m going bald