Social Loneliness
It may come as a surprise with so many forms of communication but the feeling of loneliness is just as prevalent today as it was during times such as the Great Depression. Due to the distance between people loneliness is still rearing its ugly head. We may talk more or have the ability to talk to others more but as a society have declined the amount we spend with other people face-to-face.
This is very common with teenagers through social media websites. With all this technology caused distance loneliness is prevalent in the everyday life. There are many people that live in cities but there are still people that live in country settings. For these country dwellers other people are not necessarily right next door. Sometimes people are a few hundred feet down the road but there are cases where they can be up to several miles away. With people living so far from each other it’s easy to see how one can be lonely by not having many social interactions in person.
These people either have to use technological networking or they must travel to wherever other people are in order to socialize with others in person. Since the beginning of this current millennia technology has been increasing exponentially in what its capabilities are. Due to this communication from opposite sides of the world are possible yet people with this technology are still lonely. The main cause of this loneliness is the lack of in-person interaction. Most people have a tendency to like being around other people for various reasons. With this in mind a voice or text on a screen may not be enough to have that intimate feel one has one they speak to another in-person.
When this intimate in-person interaction is removed it can lead to social behavior issues as well as loneliness. The average high school teenager can have up to one thousand friends on sites like that of Facebook. With all these “friends” one would seem to not be lonely. The real problem is that even if these people are known online it is highly unlikely that the user will know all the people on their friends list. By not really knowing or talking to these people one can feel lonely due to false friendships.
The idea of not having any “real friends” could cause one to feel lonely in the sense of the real world. A person could have a million friends in their virtual life but be lonely and friendless in their real life. Although technology has its many positives it also has its cons. Due to distance people can still communicate with one another yet still feel isolated and alone. With so many virtual connections to others it might seem like there is no one in one’s own real world life. Teenagers can chat and blog and communicate all they want on places like Facebook but how many friends you have in real life and the time you spend face-to-face is what really counts.
Maybe instead of zeroing in on communication with each other, we as a society should focus on getting together with others more in the real world to avoid feeling lonely.
