I've been seeing this topic in the media for quite a few years now, and I just wonder why there doesn't seem to have any solution either from the private or public sectors. Is it because loneliness is not huge enough, or it's like poverty that has to be dealt by yourself? Those social media and apps trying to help just make loneliness and anxiety worse as many other articles suggest.
An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
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Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#12Yogic view of loneliness (and ways to overcome it) is quite different from our contemporary ideas. http://omswami.com/2018/10/loneliness.html
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Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#13I am not an american. But i have no one in my life. And unlike that 16 years old who feels lonely although she/he is in fact "surrounded by nice people", i am not surrounded by anyone. The funny thing is half an hour ago i wrote about what Ive been already knowing for a good decade: people are small coin. Bargaining chip. They come and go. What a coincidence. I decided to reiterate that because some situation reminde…
"Waste" implying you have something to waste. Relax. We are all passing through and no one will even know we existed not too long after we pass. You can go screaming to the grave as you are doing, or you can seek peace and at least try to make the world better around you.
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#14I am not an american. But i have no one in my life. And unlike that 16 years old who feels lonely although she/he is in fact "surrounded by nice people", i am not surrounded by anyone. The funny thing is half an hour ago i wrote about what Ive been already knowing for a good decade: people are small coin. Bargaining chip. They come and go. What a coincidence. I decided to reiterate that because some situation reminde…
Reading your paragraphs reminded me of Durkheim's Anomie. Are you familiar with it?
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#15I am not an american. But i have no one in my life. And unlike that 16 years old who feels lonely although she/he is in fact "surrounded by nice people", i am not surrounded by anyone. The funny thing is half an hour ago i wrote about what Ive been already knowing for a good decade: people are small coin. Bargaining chip. They come and go. What a coincidence. I decided to reiterate that because some situation reminde…
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Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#16I don't think it'll get better any time soon.
When I was a teenager, I couldn't wait to start driving. That led to hanging out at the town bowling center with a group of like-minded friends.
My kids mostly talk to their friends online. None of them seem to have the same burning desire to drive places-- they like to get together, but they're also fine communicating on the phone. It doesn't seem as closely connected.
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#17For me, the most interesting thing about all these loneliness articles is how often they make it to HN's first page. It says more about HN/tech community then America as a whole.
Maybe it has something to do with the role technology plays in this issue.
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#18Here's an interesting article: "Why is it hard to make friends over 30?" [1]
"As external conditions change, it becomes tougher to meet the three conditions that sociologists have considered crucial to making close friends: proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other."
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/fashion/the-challenge-of-...
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#19No surprise really. More and more is personalized and self-centric, which is replacing the shared experience. Of cource more and more people are feeling they don't belong, there's less and less to belong to.
Re: An Epidemic of Loneliness in America?
#20Not sure what's the point of these letters, reminds me of the comments section in the NYT which I find politically overcharged and offensive. It was an article that resonated with many people. Does it make people feel better to ridicule loneliness. You can brush off poverty but it still there...
I should mention the letter seem to cover a spectrum of opinions, from doubting the problem to bemoaning it.
Finding solid evidence that loneliness is increasing is a problem. I believe that it is but it is something that's simply hard to demonstrate. I think Robert Putnam's book Bowling Alone was one of the most convincing arguments for the breakdown of community in the US but even that careful, well documented study had it's significant critics. Equally, one could point to the epidemic of suicides and opioids but again, one could frame doubts.
Anyone know other arguments.