The definition of loneliness is alone, without anyone in solitary. In the world no one is really alone,we have snapchat,instagram,Tiktok, facetime, zoom, and many more ways to socialize. So why are we the ones who feel so lonely? Why are we alone when surrounded by so many people? We have lost the grasp of connection on a deeper level. The more society advances with technology the more disconnected we are with traditional ways of functioning. This generation is constantly given things that have made us further from immediate social interaction. The effects of this can be tragic. Due to the coronavirus pandemic we have to separate ourselves from people abundantly so we maintain everyone's health. But the cost is too great for adolescent and young children. We can no longer go to crowded or hectic places and have conversations with people which helps us be able to speak and communicate better with people. People who are shielded from the natural state of the world do not grasp the idea when they are presented with it. This can cause social anxiety, and extreme loss of social skills.But in life we need these things, if not we are rendered useless to what the future holds. Isolation can also cause increased sadness, loss of meaning in many relationships, and anxiety. The loss of social outings has led us to dive into social media, making the self isolation worse. We look at other people’s lives and if they are what we want we start to compare our lives, lessening the meaning of yours when everyone’s lives are meaningful. This also leads to questioning relationships, the disconnect between relationships because of no longer having the ability to see them you discredit the bond, and separate yourself from others making your thoughts of loneliness a reality. If this cycle is repeated with every person, we all develop the inability to truly connect with someone because you lost the idea of not being alone. Life has separated people and you have put another wall behind that. Loneliness consumes you and leaves you doubting if you will ever feel complete. Loneliness contributes to so many issues but one important one is emotion, you hold in what you feel because you do not believe anyone else understands how you feel or what you are going through. So you stuff down what you feel and function as best as you can but it will only make the realization of your pain and hurt worse, and because you told no one it contributes to the pain. Loneliness is something that warps your mind, making you not trust yourself or others, and making you dislike yourself. Loneliness can be many things, it changes for everyone.But the true meaning of loneliness is a dark shadow trying to uproot you from your life. Do not let it control you even though loneliness can be powerful support can overpower that and help you get through this hard time. Just because loneliness seems like the only option right now, put in the effort to do the alternative, connect with the people you love and express yourself. Express your loneliness so they can express theirs too and CONNECT.
Works Cited
Coombs, Bertha. Loneliness is on the rise and younger workers and social media users feel it
most, Cigna survey finds.23 Jan. 2020. CNBC,
www.cnbc.com/2020/01/23/loneliness-is-rising-younger-workers-and-social-media-users
-feel-it-most.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
The Risks of Social Isolation.American psychological association, May 2019. American psychological association,www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Understood, Understood Team. "Understanding Your Child's Trouble with Social Skills."
Understood,Fred Poses,
www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/social-s
kills-issues/understanding-childs-trouble-with-social-skills. Accessed 11 Dec. 2020.
Yes Leah! I completely agree with your take on why so many of us feel so lonely. It really is scary to see where our society is headed, but you have inspired me to want to reach out and socialize more, even if it is within the walls of my room. It is worth the effort! Great job! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! No one has really ever explained the feeling of loneliness and I'm glad you decided to, especially during these trivial times. I agree with everything you said and have found it hard to connect with people after losing the idea of what it's like to be surrounded by others. But, as you stated, the solution is expressing your loneliness to others so that you can connect despite of what you're feeling! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very refreshing entry. Thank so much for deciding to write about this topic, because to be honest I've been feeling alone all quarantine. I also agree that this pandemic is making it hard for people, especially teens, to communicate with one another. I also believe it's making a lot of teens become anti-social and lose friends. At school, we have our besties, friends from class, friends from whatever extracurricular activity. However, being at home all day, you may only talk to your besties and lose those other friends. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading you entry and agree with you completely.
ReplyDeleteWow! This was so good! I personally could connect with this because I believe everything you said was true. In times like these, I feel more distant from others now than ever. In addition, I feel like you can see the loss of social skills in classes as no one likes to unmute and talk. I truly hope more people read this and realize that we can all beat this and connect once again! Great job!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great piece that broke down the feeling of loneliness as a whole. I feel that many of us can relate as a result of the ongoing pandemic and I enjoyed your closing sentence to encourage the expression of one's loneliness as a way to connect with others.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing about this! Many people, including myself, have been feeling lonely during these times. It can definitely be hard to open up and be vulnerable when it comes to our emotions but this piece made me realize it's more crucial now than ever. Social media can be a fun escape but what we really need is human contact.
ReplyDeleteThis was super well written and relatable especially with our circumstances right now. Thank you for writing about this because it's definitely taken a toll on me and other people I know. Great writing!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your commentary on the dichotomy of loneliness and how's it presence can be meditative, but also dangerous if we lean too far into it. Your exploration of the division between loneliness and togetherness was also incredibly interesting. The dividing physical presence that characterizes what is alone and what is together is inevitably lost throughout this pandemic. Therefore, the lines between true loneliness and true socialization have been blurred, leaving us in a grey area where we can't properly distinguish what being alone means. A fantastic exposition on the idea of loneliness!
ReplyDeleteThis really fits for the time that we are in right now. Humans are innately social ceatures, and depriving oneself of interactions can really effect ones mental health. I love that you are encouraging people to be more social, as hard as that is right now. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your piece and now I feel motivated to call up some friends and talk for a litte.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice! That reminds me of a lyric from a song, "they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but its better than drinking alone." I think its super important that you mention sharing your feelings with others! Humans all want to be understood on a deeper level by others and sometimes sharing that feeling of loneliness definitely makes us feel less lonely.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice! That reminds me of a lyric from a song, "they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but its better than drinking alone." I think its super important that you mention sharing your feelings with others! Humans all want to be understood on a deeper level by others and sometimes sharing that feeling of loneliness definitely makes us feel less lonely.
ReplyDeleteI really like this piece! I am pretty sure everyone at this point can relate to this writing at some degree with our circumstances of our world at the moment. I know I really got really lonely awhile ago because I was home alone everyday, all day so it got really hard for me. Communication is key for going through this, I really like the message behind it :)
ReplyDeleteThings like loneliness, depression, and anxiety are all topics that students shy away from due to the personal matter of those subjects but by tackling it straight on it has been really refreshing. Especially during a time like this, I know I've been confused on what I'm feeling but the way you've broken it down has made me reflect on my time in quarantine. What you've written can really help the rest of our generation understand what we're going through and your advise at the end to just connect was really great!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the way this progressed. Although we all feel lonely, it is something we hide. Rather, we should use it to bond and learn from others. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was amazing Leah. I thinkm you touched on a very important topic. Depression, anxiety, and loneliness are all things that have been increasing in our generation. I'm actually quite curious to see the studies in the future on how the pandemic effected our generation socially and mentally. Your piece made me realize that I should reflect on what I spend my time doing. For example, am I on my phone/ social media too much, and am I not making time for my family who is right in front of me. This was a great piece and I am very appreciative of it. -Savannah Fitz
ReplyDeleteLeah, I loved the piece. I think you touched on a very important topic. Depression, loneliness, and anxiety have been more abundant in our generation. With that being said, I am quite curious to see the what the future studies say about the pandemic and the effect it had on our generation socially and mentally. This piece makes me reflect on how I spend my time, meaning am I on my phone/ social media too much and If I am spending enough time with my family who is right by my side. Thank you for writing this! -Savannah Fitz
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good insight into what goes on in our lives when we are presented with all these technologies and distractions from true social interaction, even though you'd think they would allow us to grow closer to each other. You addressed the concept very well and expressed it in a way that made me feel like you were speaking on my behalf. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in many ways. It feels like we are alone even though we are connected especially in 2020. You did a great job on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this! This was such a powerful piece that is very prevalent to today’s society especially. The feeling of loneliness is unfortunately too common for us who are living through a rough time right now. I also loved how you offered solutions at the end to overcome this loneliness though, and I can gaurantee you that it has impacted me in a good way!
ReplyDeleteI really like this piece, I feel like most poeple our age need to address their feelings and like you said stop running away from them. This made me realize that there are many others with the same issue and if we all connect together, then we can all help eachother. Once again, thank you for this wonderful piece.- Anastasia Lamiy
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your piece Leah. I believe that humans are inherently social creatures and I agree that loneliness has a negative affect on the psyche. We should also give credit to the possibilities of our technology, because communication with my friends and family made the pandemic a lot more bearable.
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