{"id":457,"date":"2018-01-28T13:55:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-28T21:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/d1moffatt\/?p=457"},"modified":"2018-01-28T19:56:48","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T03:56:48","slug":"the-loneliness-crisis-in-a-disconnected-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/d1moffatt\/the-loneliness-crisis-in-a-disconnected-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The loneliness crisis in a (dis)connected world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Family, friends and books. Photo cred: DLM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWait, are you serious?\u201d, my husband responded to my sharing the news that the UK just appointed a\u00a0Minister of Loneliness<\/a>. When it comes to the subject of loneliness, many are indeed serious, as the \u201clooming loneliness crisis<\/a>\u201d is cutting a wide swath, regardless of age or income.\u00a0As a public, we should<\/strong> be concerned about social connection, given that we are living in the most technologically connected age in history, and yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980’s<\/a>. Why is this?<\/p>\n

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“It is the great irony of our age that we have never been better connected, or more adrift.”<\/em> – Elizabeth Renzetti<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

Evidence points to our cities designed for cars, and buildings designed for elevators<\/a> as part of the problem. The other major source of loneliness can be found in our online activities. Simply having our phone nearby can hurt our close relationships;<\/a>\u00a0research reveals\u00a0excessive and unhealthy Internet use can increase feelings of loneliness<\/a> over time; and, adding to the isolation, society tends to ostracize the lonely, perhaps intuitively knowing that loneliness is contagious<\/a>. This social dilemma has wide and deep health implications<\/a> as well, with loneliness being compared to the health risks associated with obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes\/day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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In New York, even the babies want their own cell phones – Photo credit Ed Yourdon via https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/yourdon\/11180721716<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So what do we do?<\/p>\n

We could learn from Beau Han Bridge’s story<\/a>. At the age of 24, he’s\u00a0found that technology and social media can lead to a deeper sense of social isolation,\u00a0so he started a theatre company<\/a> to do creative projects that involve more face-to-face interaction between young people. (They just finished a successful run of their second production.)<\/p>\n

Then there’s the Vancouver Foundation\u00a0Neighborhood Small Grants<\/a>\u00a0designed to combat their organization’s survey findings that unexpectedly revealed loneliness and isolation as top community concerns. Grant recipients have used funds for a community patio building effort, a backyard “All About Bees” event, and a\u00a0street-party\u00a0<\/span>fiddle concert. The relationships forged and deepened through these community gatherings are an important part of a loneliness antidote.<\/span><\/p>\n