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The Loneliness Epidemic

melmagazine.com

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Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#21

Post by Cthulhu_ »

radcon wrote: post #7
yters wrote: post #4

The good thing is we can walk next door and meet our neighbor. It is strange this is an epidemic when it is a problem that seems so easy to solve. UPDATE: based on responses to my comment it seems the core problem may be closer to home than we like to admit. CS Lewis' book The Great Divorce details this misanthropy, where hell is a product of the residents' own making because they choose to live on their own because…

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. This is like saying alcoholism is an easy problem to solve because all they have to do is stop drinking.

Or if you're depressed just think positive thoughts.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#22

Post by Fauntleroy »

xamuel wrote: post #11
rofo1 wrote: post #3

It only makes sense for this epidemic to take place in the society we've developed. We are tearing apart the fabric and the bond that kept everyone feeling as a part of community; namely, religion. Religion was never designed for people to fear the man upstairs; it was always about the values and the bond it created between each member of that religion. Individualism and decadence are being more or less encouraged, o…

Very true. People think of verses like Leviticus 20:13 (homosexuals condemned to death) but forget verses like John 8:7, "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." Perhaps one of the most relevant teachings of Jesus is from his Discourse on the Church when he says: "For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)

I've got to be honest here, it's infuriating to see the extremely basic moral/social principles from the Bible held up on some kind of pedestal like they're a unique or difficult to come by idea. As an atheist I try to be a good person because it is something I innately want to do, not because it was a revelation I had in Bible study. The Bible did not invent "being nice to other people"

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#23

Post by badpun »

Tade0 wrote: post #10
rofo1 wrote: post #3

It only makes sense for this epidemic to take place in the society we've developed. We are tearing apart the fabric and the bond that kept everyone feeling as a part of community; namely, religion. Religion was never designed for people to fear the man upstairs; it was always about the values and the bond it created between each member of that religion. Individualism and decadence are being more or less encouraged, o…

I grew up in a highly conservative and (according to statistics) religious society (Poland) and my observation is that it's not correlated. People who sought company in church were often disappointed, because most of the others who went there had lives of their own and weren't that invested in the whole thing. Hell, the loneliest people I know are consistently religious.

Polish society was very heavily wounded by 50 years of hardcore socialism combined with the police state (at the hands of the Soviets). The levels of trust people have towards each other are still abysmally low. I wouldn't use Poland as an example, because it is (like other post-Soviet block states) still very much not normal.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#24

Post by squish78 »

sysbin wrote: post #9
rofo1 wrote: post #3

It only makes sense for this epidemic to take place in the society we've developed. We are tearing apart the fabric and the bond that kept everyone feeling as a part of community; namely, religion. Religion was never designed for people to fear the man upstairs; it was always about the values and the bond it created between each member of that religion. Individualism and decadence are being more or less encouraged, o…

Religion has nothing to do with the loneliness epidemic. All my young friends are burdened by inflation that has never been addressed by increasing wages to match it. People cannot see themselves saving for homes and specifically if they have a huge debt from student loans; being conditioned to go to university before the brain has developed. People are under a lot of stress as a result of these problems and loneline…

People in poverty have had robust social structures and communities since the dawn of civilization

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#25

Post by defterGoose »

trentnix wrote: post #2

When politicians are staging national interventions to force us to connect with each other — and actually spending real money on the problem — you know it’s a genuine crisis No. Politicians throwing money at something is not evidence of a crisis.

Can you see that this is an extremely dogmatic view? If society has seemingly agreed that society needs government, part of society needs to actually administer that government.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#26

Post by slothtrop »

rofo1 wrote: post #3

It only makes sense for this epidemic to take place in the society we've developed. We are tearing apart the fabric and the bond that kept everyone feeling as a part of community; namely, religion. Religion was never designed for people to fear the man upstairs; it was always about the values and the bond it created between each member of that religion. Individualism and decadence are being more or less encouraged, o…

Monotheism was popularized to transcend kinship, in order to raise large armies. Prior, people were fragmented into close-knit tribes up from 100-200 people. They had their own lore and beliefs. Loneliness was not the issue they had, and not what monotheism addressed.

In order to wage warfare and conquer a region with large numbers, you have to convince others to fight for you. This was difficult. It led to the agricultural revolution and bureaucracy through centralization (to pump out more bodies), thus civilization, and the use of religion as a means to bring a larger society together under one banner.

All of which to say, loneliness as the epidemic we understand today is a modern problem. On one hand, the family unit has been decimated, and on the other we're more disconnected from larger society. The nature of work has changed, the way we operate in society has changed. More than just the Church has slipped away.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#27

Post by renjimen »

rofo1 wrote: post #3

It only makes sense for this epidemic to take place in the society we've developed. We are tearing apart the fabric and the bond that kept everyone feeling as a part of community; namely, religion. Religion was never designed for people to fear the man upstairs; it was always about the values and the bond it created between each member of that religion. Individualism and decadence are being more or less encouraged, o…

Maybe being part of a religious organisation helps to ward off loneliness, and maybe being religious helps instill values that help people trust and communicate.

But you still have to believe in some magical being(s), and so do all your mates.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#28

Post by tictoc »

radcon wrote: post #17

At the risk of sounding like a crazy hippy, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that some kind of subsistence-based neighborhoods would be a great option for dealing with this problem. Not only would it provide some relief from the feeling of being shackled to bullshit jobs for life if you don't want to starve to death, it would also help foster much stronger communities.

go back to your farm you dirty hippie

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#29

Post by tictoc »

arvinsim wrote: post #8
yters wrote: post #4

The good thing is we can walk next door and meet our neighbor. It is strange this is an epidemic when it is a problem that seems so easy to solve. UPDATE: based on responses to my comment it seems the core problem may be closer to home than we like to admit. CS Lewis' book The Great Divorce details this misanthropy, where hell is a product of the residents' own making because they choose to live on their own because…

It takes two to tango. If people are not willing to meet people, then what can the one who initiates do?

Find another person. or get a dog.

Re: The Loneliness Epidemic

#30

Post by squish78 »

yters wrote: post #4

The good thing is we can walk next door and meet our neighbor. It is strange this is an epidemic when it is a problem that seems so easy to solve. UPDATE: based on responses to my comment it seems the core problem may be closer to home than we like to admit. CS Lewis' book The Great Divorce details this misanthropy, where hell is a product of the residents' own making because they choose to live on their own because…

I'm amazed at the responses and downvotes to this comment. Is everyone terrified of small talk with their neighbors?
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