subject: The Twin Curse Of Isolation And Loneliness [print this page] Isolation and loneliness are some of the most common problems people have to face today. Despite the abundance of new technologies that supposedly make our lives much easier, despite the numerous developments in communication, travel, interaction, and information exchange, it seems that more people are becoming lonelier and more isolated than ever. Could it be that all these things that make our lives more efficient and streamlined have also served to erode the essence of genuine love and affection and the sanctity of relationships?
Loneliness and isolation are nothing new of course, and these emotions have been felt by people ever since the dawn of time. From the very first incident of a family member leaving the fold or being isolated from the community, humans have always been familiar with isolation and loneliness. The physical causes of loneliness and isolation are still common, and to this day, people still feel the pang of loneliness when a partner, friend or family member leaves their presence. With the advent of technological innovations related to communication however, it seems that isolation and loneliness have taken on a more impersonal tone.
Up until only a few decades ago, humans basically relied on face-to-face communication to keep in contact with the community. If you wanted to exchange words with someone, there was no getting around the need to establish actually physical contact. We did have the option to write letters of course, and then later, the convenience of being able to talk on the phone. By and large however, most communication exchanges still took place between individuals and groups of people in the same room together.
Things are much different nowadays, and most people now would routinely drop an email or chat with others on the Internet when they previously would have sent a letter, made a telephone call or simply talked to the person face-to-face. It is in this modern day, high-tech age of communication that the isolation-loneliness cycle comes to the fore. There is something rather impersonal about doing all your communicating online, and most people now have a much closer relationship to their computer or smartphone than their friends or family. This has given rise to a sense of detachment from everyone else that may result in isolation and loneliness.
There is no denying that these technological developments have made our lives so much easier and people so much more efficient. However efficiency doesn't necessarily lay the groundwork for a healthy and rewarding relationship. With so much focus placed on being able to reach as many people as quickly as possible, it is ironic that we find ourselves actually communicating less frequently with the people that matter the most in our lives.
So what is the solution to all this? It really is quite simple: continue to use modern technologies for communicating whenever convenience and efficiency is of the essence. For every other situation however, consider the possibility that relying on actual human contact can work wonders in terms of easing the pain of the isolation-loneliness cycle.
