The Epidemic of Loneliness in The 21st Century
- Alia
- Apr 20, 2019
- 2 min read
It is stated that the 21st century is the loneliest ever. According to Psychology Today, the main factors that make up happiness to humans are family and friends, intimacy, social affiliation and physical health. Ultimately, it is our nature to create tight bonds with one another. We live in the time where communication is so much easier than it was 40 years ago. With the access of technology, everyone is just a text away. Though, loneliness puts us at greater risks of developing disease/s. An analysis estimated that loneliness is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We crave human connection just as much as we crave our favourite foods. Therefore, when we lack human connection we seek other ways to cope with it and most times, we cope with it unhealthily.
The amount of people who have reported themselves as lonely has doubled to 40% since the 80’s which is 2 out of every 5 people. Will Wright believes that the nature of relationship has significantly changed over the last 3 decades in which we are still adapting to. With advanced technology, we are getting rid off traditional forces which allows us to empathise with one another. Wright says, that if we are not being forced to empathise, then many of us sadly we will not. This is because empathy requires vulnerability which allows us to open up, being hurt or judged.
Now people tend to tell us to “put that phone down. Go outside and meet new people.”; this is hard for many of us as we have access to everything on our phones and can even work from them. From replying emails to interviews, technology has come a far way.
Research to be continued
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