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Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

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Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#21

Post by JustSomeNobody »

Simulacra wrote: post #4

I'm curious if this is a direct result of the internet and smartphones. The two make us feel more connected, more global, but I think it makes us more isolated. I miss talking to my friends on the phone, and hanging out in the 90s. Everything, especially how humans interact, is so digital today.

> The two make us feel more connected, more global, but I think it makes us more isolated.

My wife and I had this discussion the other day. Messaging or posting on FB or whatever is very flat. There's no depth to it at all. It doesn't replace hearing a loved one's voice or looking into their eyes or hugging them or even having a meal with them. When you go and you visit them and you see them, you realize how much you're missing and, yeah, it feels very isolating to realize that. Social media is a facade.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#22

Post by ohyes »

fipple wrote: post #17
Rotdhizon wrote: post #9

I think a huge factor is the growing theme of social interaction being unacceptable. Back in the day you could walk up to and make friends with almost anyone, it wasn't weird to interact with strangers, thus making new acquaintances. Modern society stigmatizes that kind of interaction, don't talk to people you don't know if you don't want to be ostracized. You could want to befriend someone in a crowd, but come up wi…

Part of that is social interaction being less necessary. My dad made many friends asking random people on the street for directions to a gas station or for a restaurant recommendation. Now we get that all from our phones.

indeed, Steve Jobs should have called it the iFriend, the only friend you need...

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#23

Post by nicoburns »

coryfklein wrote: post #15

For a long time I've been wanting a "Tinder For Platonic Adults" app. I'm not looking for romance or sex, but I want to find nearby matches with similar interests; do you drink, play board games, are you married, how many kids and what age? There are likely tens of matches for me within a 5 minute drive, I just don't know how to find them . I'm a friendly guy and would love to have that friend that feels comfortable…

Meetup can be good for this.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#24

Post by karmakaze »

> 46% of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone

I would choose this answer but wouldn't say I'm lonely. 46% is no surprise. What percentage responded usually/always lonely?

What is significant are the othet equivalent health risks.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#25

Post by asdfasdfdavid »

evanagon wrote: post #2

"Decades of research substantiate the devastating effects of social isolation. Loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day and increases the risk of death by 26-45%, which is on par with risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and lack of exercise."

Also interesting, 18- to 22-year-olds are the loneliest subgroup.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#26

Post by simmanian »

Rotdhizon wrote: post #9

I think a huge factor is the growing theme of social interaction being unacceptable. Back in the day you could walk up to and make friends with almost anyone, it wasn't weird to interact with strangers, thus making new acquaintances. Modern society stigmatizes that kind of interaction, don't talk to people you don't know if you don't want to be ostracized. You could want to befriend someone in a crowd, but come up wi…

I do think people tend to engage with strangers a lot less often than they had "back then," but I cannot agree modern society stigmatizes that kind of interaction at all. You can see people interacting with strangers on college campuses, at music events, and at grocery stores all the time.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#28

Post by grasshopperpurp »

Many reasons for this, and many good ones have already been noted, but I haven't seen anyone mention time yet. Americans work a lot. If you don't make friends at work, or you don't maintain friendships from high school or college, you're working on limited time and energy - as are the people you hope to befriend (though you don't know who they are yet). If you have a family, it's even harder.

I don't have kids, and while I don't have a ton of friends, I'm lucky to have some good, close friends, who I don't (imo) have enough time for and don't get to see enough.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#29

Post by untog »

gf263 wrote: post #20
coryfklein wrote: post #15

For a long time I've been wanting a "Tinder For Platonic Adults" app. I'm not looking for romance or sex, but I want to find nearby matches with similar interests; do you drink, play board games, are you married, how many kids and what age? There are likely tens of matches for me within a 5 minute drive, I just don't know how to find them . I'm a friendly guy and would love to have that friend that feels comfortable…

Try Bumble's BFF feature

IMO it would ideally be separate from any dating app. Not just because of profile overlap, but also because as a married man I really don't want Bumble to be on the home screen of my phone. No matter how innocent my use of it, I wouldn't want anyone to see it on my phone and get a bad impression of me as a result.

Re: Nearly Half of Americans Are Lonely

#30

Post by buboard »

Simulacra wrote: post #4

I'm curious if this is a direct result of the internet and smartphones. The two make us feel more connected, more global, but I think it makes us more isolated. I miss talking to my friends on the phone, and hanging out in the 90s. Everything, especially how humans interact, is so digital today.

There is a certain "herd immunity" to social interaction to the point that nowadays taking down your phone or your book will not make a difference. It's probably not caused by smartphones and media, but they have facilitated the trend.

There used to be a time when constantly looking at a smartphone was the odd one out. Now it's the reverse.

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