Ha! The last line was perfect. Interesting article. The Covid quarantine kept me alone for about 2 years and I loved it. I have a parallel writing group that meets via internet 5 days a week. It has diminished much of any feeling of loneliness.
I agree with many of the points made in this piece. I see and experience the adverse effects of our phones/tech on our feelings of isolation and I see/experience connecting benefits as well. I suspect that if we personally study effective containment strategies and risks/benefits of iphones/AI/tech then we can discern and implement better protective strategies despite societal forces.
While loneliness is global, it is acute in USA. We favor freedom over group cohesion. Example are many but here are a few.
During my 2 years the social fabric was tribal, no one was ever "alone". Going to see a movie by oneself was perceived as extremely odd.
I appraised nursing homes all over USA. Ward rooms with 3 or more patients were never desired except some parts of Florida that catered to Cuban exile patients. They and their families wanted ward rooms of 4 or more patients so have patient company.
Loneliness during the last 50 years has increased drastically in the USA. Not all but a significant part of this is due to the drastic decline of smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol in bars and the switch to smoking pot or taking other drugs.
The smoking break was normally a social thing where people talked.
Bars and taverns were meeting places for everyone like in the movie, The Apartment".
Getting stoned on pot or other drugs is typically a sole experience where one goes to their "world" even if doing it in a group.
Now we have the internet with a group sitting together with none "present", all far afield on their I Phone.
In my experience, not a whole lot of good happens in DMs. Maybe that's a chick thing...or a me thing. Here, it might be a good thing. Although, I'll likely accidentally (idiotically) send what I think is a DM in a regular public chat. And it will be a doozy, no doubt. Hope you are doing very well, Matt. xo
Ha! The last line was perfect. Interesting article. The Covid quarantine kept me alone for about 2 years and I loved it. I have a parallel writing group that meets via internet 5 days a week. It has diminished much of any feeling of loneliness.
I agree with many of the points made in this piece. I see and experience the adverse effects of our phones/tech on our feelings of isolation and I see/experience connecting benefits as well. I suspect that if we personally study effective containment strategies and risks/benefits of iphones/AI/tech then we can discern and implement better protective strategies despite societal forces.
While loneliness is global, it is acute in USA. We favor freedom over group cohesion. Example are many but here are a few.
During my 2 years the social fabric was tribal, no one was ever "alone". Going to see a movie by oneself was perceived as extremely odd.
I appraised nursing homes all over USA. Ward rooms with 3 or more patients were never desired except some parts of Florida that catered to Cuban exile patients. They and their families wanted ward rooms of 4 or more patients so have patient company.
Loneliness during the last 50 years has increased drastically in the USA. Not all but a significant part of this is due to the drastic decline of smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol in bars and the switch to smoking pot or taking other drugs.
The smoking break was normally a social thing where people talked.
Bars and taverns were meeting places for everyone like in the movie, The Apartment".
Getting stoned on pot or other drugs is typically a sole experience where one goes to their "world" even if doing it in a group.
Now we have the internet with a group sitting together with none "present", all far afield on their I Phone.
In my experience, not a whole lot of good happens in DMs. Maybe that's a chick thing...or a me thing. Here, it might be a good thing. Although, I'll likely accidentally (idiotically) send what I think is a DM in a regular public chat. And it will be a doozy, no doubt. Hope you are doing very well, Matt. xo
I like how you are exploring on the potential positive aspects of a method of communicating which practically the entire globe has access to.
It's so easy to keep one's self in a negative default perception of such things.