Here is an uncomfortable truth that we must face: Humans are experiencing a loneliness epidemic. According to NPR, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.
Research shows that loneliness is genuinely dangerous because it increases the risk of dementia, heart disease, stroke, and premature death.
Heightened loneliness among Millennials and younger North Americans, driven by reduced social interactions, negative social media influences, and societal polarization, has significantly contributed to the United States falling from 15th to 23rd in the global happiness ranking.
This is a cruel paradox. On the one hand, our ability to connect ceaselessly and globally has never been stronger. The internet and social media have made us all inextricably interconnected—literally, we are caught in a web. On the other hand, as Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy puts it, these technologies have profoundly changed the way “we interact with each other.”
Loneliness originates from a sense of isolation, and isolation begins with the way in which we divide our world.
In other words, as long as we are missing this precious sense of an interconnected humanity, where all of us are moving as one, technology can only increase our sense of isolation.
We have created a value system in which we propagate diversification, polarization, and individualization while ignoring our profound human need for true inclusiveness and belonging.
To heal loneliness, we all need to start thinking about how we can cultivate a culture of connection in our time, starting today.
Here are three ways to begin:
1. Embrace your global identity.
Start changing the world by embracing the felt reality that you are a global citizen, belonging to one interdependent humanity that goes beyond nations, religions, or political views. Resist this imposed isolation. Take a step back from your daily life and consider the whole world you live in right now. You are a vital part of this planet. All walls are mere mental constructs.
2. Choose to stop looking at the world in terms of right and wrong—ultimate good or ultimate bad.
Resist this tendency, even if it is encouraged by populist politics, attention-capturing media coverage, and conflict-hungry social media platforms. What happens when you drop that vision of a divided world? What can you see?
3. Avoid exchanging harsh or quarrelsome words on social media.
Social media has become our modern battlefield, where people kill each other with words. I’ve seen people receive death wishes just for not liking a certain film! Refuse to use lethal verbal weapons. Instead, use social media to help, serve others, express generosity, and support yourself and others in healing loneliness.
By perceiving a world without separation, you’ll make yourself feel more at home in this world.
