Only the lonely!

The more the virtual connections, and the more time that one spends in the virtual world, there is less time for the real world.  And, it is in the real world that we people live.  So, if we have very little time for the real world ... then ...

loneliness is widespread in America, with nearly 50 percent of respondents reporting that they feel alone or left out always or sometimes.

Now, pause for a minute and think about it.  Who spends less time in the virtual world?  Older folks, right?  And who is online and connected 24x7?  The digital native young people.  So, it should be no surprise that:

"Too often people think that this [problem] is specific to older adults," says Holt-Lunstad. "This report helps with the recognition that this can affect those at younger ages."
In fact, some research published in 2017 by psychologist Jean Twenge at San Diego State University suggests that more screen time and social media may have caused a rise in depression and suicide among American adolescents. The study also found that people who spend less time looking at screens and more time having face-to-face social interactions are less likely to be depressive or suicidal.

More often that not common sense can easily tell us what we otherwise try to measure through expensive research.  Loneliness and technology is one of those easy to call issues.

The only interesting twist for me was this on the correlation between social media use and feelings of loneliness:

"If you're passively using it, if you're just scrolling feeds, that's associated with more negative effects," she says. "But if you're using it to reach out and connect to people to facilitate other kinds of [in-person] interactions, it's associated with more positive effects."

But then, it makes sense--it all depends on how we use any technological tool.

On this issue, the UK is ahead of the US--a few months ago, the UK's Prime Minister appointed a minister for loneliness:

“For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life,” Mrs. May said in a statement.
“I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones — people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with.”

Modern life is a killer!

“There are so many university students who just lock themselves in their rooms for days because they feel rejected or that they don’t fit in,” Ms. Jenkins said. “It’s only a matter of time before loneliness turns into depression. And that’s where it gets dangerous.”

I am outta here!