Why Do We Still Feel So Lonely In A Globally Connected World?
With almost two-thirds of the world’s population having access to a mobile phone, we are truly living in an ever increasingly connected world. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter seemingly provides us with an effortless way to maintain our various relationships. But in the midst of all the instantaneous status updates and tweets, there exists, a feeling of loneliness that no doubt some of us have felt to some extent; despite what the smiley emojis would have you believe.
What Is It That Makes Us Lonely?
It first appears ironic to experience the feeling of loneliness given the fact that our friends and family are often one 1-3 seconds away on one of the various messaging services available to us. However, the explanation for why we sometimes feel lonely can seemingly be explained by evolution. Humans have always been and will continue to be social creatures. Between 200,000 – 100,000 years ago, we would often cooperate with others and fashion tools used for hunting and gathering in order to survive. Although social media platforms do give us the means to be social, they lack a vital element that prevents us from feeling lonely. Physical presence.
A physical conversation engages our mind and body in ways that an online conversation cannot. A face-to-face conversation is a complex exchange the involves our body chemistry that often satisfies our innate desire of social interaction. It is simply the fact that social media and technology is a barrier to that. Social media and technology lack the physical presence that we often want and leaves us dissatisfied with the lack of meaningful physical interaction that accompanies a conversation. As a result, this feeling of dissatisfaction can often manifest itself in feelings of loneliness. This problem is then often exacerbated when we let technology get in the way of our relationships.
Although exaggerated in some senses, this video accurately captures what it is like living in our globally connected world. Some people will have conversations over the internet, at the expense of the individual/s that they should be having an actual face-to- face conversation with in that exact moment. Thus, it is no surprise to find that the person on the receiving end of such behaviour will find themselves questioning the value of their relationship, and perhaps experience feelings of loneliness as they realise that their relationships are not all that meaningful.
Solutions
Although my words have painted the literary picture of this issue so far as a bleak one, there are steps that we can take to overcome this feeling of loneliness. Firstly, make the most of small opportunities to socially connect with a stranger, whether it’s by talking to a shopkeeper or a fellow transport user that strikes up a conversation. Joining a local interest group is a great way to meet and interact with like-minded strangers. We should also make sure to not allow technology to get in the way of maintaining and developing a real-life relationship, by for example, texting whilst the other party recalls a story.
Conclusion
Our globally connected world has most definitely allowed us not only to maintain our various relationships, it has also allowed us to discover and develop new ones in interesting ways (I’m looking at you Tinder). However, it is also important that we not lose sight of the value that can be obtained from a physical conversation. The physical, mental and emotional engagement that accompanies a conversation are things that a conversation in the DMs simply cannot compete with.
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References
Well Connected? The Biological Implications Of 'Social Networking'
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