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Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

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Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#41

This is a big problem in modern society especially for young adults. We're not meant for this. I know it's a bit "Hararish" to look it this way but really: "Yesterday" we were just living in small tribes together and being lonely was hard to imagine. Now you can end up having everyone you call a 'friend' on the other side of some screen and end up totally friendless in your 20's.

What exacerbates it is that modern venues for finding someone to connect with, are all heavily controlled and/or monetized. Services like OKCupid actually actively hinder relevant matches unless you pay them and keep paying them. Places like Reddit are hit and miss, heavily dependent on the time you post, and you not only have to risk your privacy to find good matches, you have to gain the approval of everyone else w…

Exactly, applications like Tinder or OkCupid are made to push you to spend money. Social websites like Facebook or Twitter show personalized ads or monetize your data.

If you're someone with difficulties to meet new people, you're an easy target.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#42
post #13
post #6

It is better than nothing, but is not scalable. We at nothing_here building a tool which will help fight loneliness online. (I have removed the link, not really trying to sell anything to anyone)

Good on you, but i think chat apps are not the solution. For physical and mental health, we need real face to face connections, in person and not online. Young people use many chat apps and even topic based groups and sites, set depression and health problems keep increasing. The more we are in front of a screen, the harder it is to actually be with others. And this is what we need as humans.

Don't you think human evolve and modern human might evolve to not need or need less face to face connection anymore for physical and mental health.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#43

> As a loner, I avoid this by making sure I walk 10,000 steps a day. I go for walk in a nearby park, morning and evening, each 45 minutes. I also use this time, to catch up on music, podcast or anything I can listen to.

> As a loner, I avoid this by making sure I walk 10,000 steps a day.

Can't recommend this enough, though you need to be in a "walkable" enough city. It's one of the best breaks you can take especially if you sit at a desk most of the day.

I love discovering urban nooks and crannies that I would miss if I took a car or train. The Apple Watch or any other tracker that can map your route etc. can help with that a lot.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#44
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article states it is a large problem for young people. How do you know it is a bigger problem for old people?

common sense and observation, its relatively easier for a person overall to make connections during schooling years. Once people pair up and disperse into the workplace and especially after they start up families it becomes much more difficult for the odd man out.

All the better to try to tackle the problem early on.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#45
Recently, there was a HN post about how volunteering was found to be the best overall solution for depression in young adults. I'm not particularly depressed, but I do live in a foreign country that, while incredibly friendly to expats, is notoriously difficult to make friends in. I started volunteering at a local organization that teaches refugees how to code, and I just have to say that it's been incredibly rewarding already. I've only been to two of their events but the sense of community that you get there is really overwhelming.

The funny thing about this is the work isn't very different from what I'd be doing on a day to day. Code reviews and a little bit of teaching. It's not that I feel I'm doing an especially large amount of good, I think my day-job definitely outpaces the volunteering in terms of net good done in the world. But there is something about community that's incredibly powerful.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#46

Love countries who acknowledge and at least attempt to tackle such issues.

Denmark is somewhat more extreme in that regard because people often retain their friendships from primary school or kindergarten so social circles are very difficult to enter for latecomers e.g. if you have moved cities within the country or came from abroad.

Of course, not universally true but it is pretty common and the woman in the article does mention moving cities.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#47

Recently, there was a HN post about how volunteering was found to be the best overall solution for depression in young adults. I'm not particularly depressed, but I do live in a foreign country that, while incredibly friendly to expats, is notoriously difficult to make friends in. I started volunteering at a local organization that teaches refugees how to code, and I just have to say that it's been incredibly rewardi…

Is this Amsterdam? Sounds like the perfect description!

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#48
post #47

Recently, there was a HN post about how volunteering was found to be the best overall solution for depression in young adults. I'm not particularly depressed, but I do live in a foreign country that, while incredibly friendly to expats, is notoriously difficult to make friends in. I started volunteering at a local organization that teaches refugees how to code, and I just have to say that it's been incredibly rewardi…

Is this Amsterdam? Sounds like the perfect description!

Sounds like Sweden to me.

Re: Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people

#49
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a more appropriate translation would be 'friend for one', as it can be read as an offer. »Ven til en« is obviously an unusual way of phrasing it, but replace »ven« with any commodity you can purchase, then it sounds more like an offer (a free one, that is). That being said, 'friend of one' is definitely an accurate translation as well. And 'friend to one' is just the literal translation. I wonder how they pro…

Ok I'm Swedish, but my reading is "friend of someone" combined with "friend of you". It's hard to explain but it holds these 2 meanings very closely. Plus the pun of "valve" in the same word, which is also fitting, for letting out steam. Besides it sounds great in English. Sounds like a new expensive drug. Imagine the TV commercial: "Contact your doctor to learn if Ventilen is for you. May cause hair loss, liver fail…

There Salbutamol, marketed as Ventolin, used to treat asthma.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salbutamol

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