How is the loneliness epidemic affecting society? | The Stream

The loneliness epidemic profoundly affects Gen Z.

Despite being hyperconnected through social media, they experience high levels of isolation, worsened by the pandemic.

The consequences are severe, leading to mental health crises, increased rates of depression and anxiety, and a sense of disconnection from community and purpose.

A study by Cigna found Gen Z (ages 18-22) is the loneliest generation, with nearly half feeling lonely. What can be done to address this growing mental health crisis?

Presenter: Anelise Borges

Guests:
Annie Ji - Sociocultural YouTuber
Esther Fernandez - Copywriter
Simone Heng - Human connection specialist

More from The Stream on:

#loneliness #mentalhealth #depression

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[Green_]

I’m lonely because I stopped trusting people. Society is too messed up. I spend all my time outside of work alone. It’s not worth opening yourself when narcissistic people and another abusers are waiting to manipulate you.

[Cotif]

Loneliness often seems to be misunderstood. Some of the loneliest people i know are polyamorous with a constant revolving door of partners. Loneliness isn't about being alone, it's about having no one who actually cares for you as a person

[jptothetree]

Spend way less time on social media and you'll automatically be a happier person.

[mickbenson]

It would have been nice to hear the unfiltered, honest male perspective on the loneliness epidemic. When you have four women discussing, you get a female version of what's happening. As usual, the male side is left out because men are expected to fix it themselves individually. The self-deletion numbers for men are 4x that of women, yet men are expected to simply man up and do better. If they're lonely, they're labeled as useless incels and need to improve and "level up." There's a massive empathy gap between the sexes. We're fundamentally different from each other. We're wired differently, and we perceive the world differently. You're indirectly making the problem bigger by leaving out the male perspective.

[Tourian]

Social media has an incentive to keep people lonely. If people are actually together interacting with each other, they're not scrolling, not seeing ads, and not making money for the social media app.

[yokuzo]

The corrupt economic system that has people working their lives away is probably the greatest factor that contributes to loneliness

[MustTrustMe]

I wrote a college paper back in 1999 about this. Referring to how in the future we will interact with machines more than humans and here we are. I wish I could find that essay

[sabrinalee]

This conversation was amazing. I spend most days alone but i don't feel lonely. I also don't have any social media platforms that I engage in. Never downloaded tik tok, abandoned Instagram and Facebook years ago, and only go on Twitter when sent a link. This conversation did answer some questions I had about myself

[diegokricekfontanive]

One of the primary causes of this issue is that we started to glorify self-promotion since the dawn of the internet, creating levels of egocentrism and self-centredness unimaginable before the advent of social media.
Our brains have become accustomed more and more to a narcissistic and superficial thinking style where the me-me-me mentality is dominant.
The consequence of this is that we now feel flat, sterile, shallow, and caught up in a sense of void and a void of sense.

[wardachrouaa]

There is a giant difference between feeling lonely and living on their own. Some people who have friends and family around them feel alone, and some people who (almost) have none around them do not feel lonely.
The problem is when you are not happy with how it is. The problem is not being on your own

[NAGA]

Where are the men in this interview? Their point of view would actually give us very good insights.

[agxec]

"I'm alone, not lonely" - Neil Mccauley, from the movie Heat (1995)

"I live in that solitude which is painful in youth but delicious in the years of maturity" - Albert Einstein

[TruthTellerMan]

I have been alone for 17 yrs now and my life is great.. My advice is stay positive and always make busy your by reading or working on something u love. Peace

[MHMusic-Hub]

I think a lot of people are also used to being alone. Especially people who enjoy drawing, music, building things, writing, reading and a lot of stuff that u need to do alone. Maybe they’re called introverts? I don’t think everyone enjoys being with someone just like some people just don’t like children.

[killy]

"better be alone than in the company of wrong people " said the guy who commited suicide

[mastermindrational]

The loneliest generation. I haven’t been on a date in a decade.

[betallyoungattractive]

Not a single guy on the panel. Very telling

[AlanTheBest]

I think its especially difficult for young men nowadays.

[karlad]

I live alone but I enjoy living alone. I can’t say that I ever feel lonely😊 Find a long-term goal and stick to it until the very end and get rid of your social media! You’ll see how your loneliness disappears.

[gaborhovan]

All women conversation. Where are the men? It seems, that men are not important any more. That is a big part of the loneliness society.