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All these problems (as the author mentions) are closely related to lower rates of social connectedness. This is obviously a huge problem, probably the biggest p

All these problems (as the author mentions) are closely related to lower rates of social connectedness. This is obviously a huge problem, probably the biggest problem in the advanced world, yet it seems to be mostly ignored. My company, Krewe (https://www.gokrewe.com https://www.gokrewe.com), is addressing it by trying to make it really easy for people to make a new group of friends in their neighborhood and become connected with their local community, but I really think other start ups should try to address the issue of loneliness and (real) social connectedness in the world.

minikites 10y ago
I know a popular meme in SV/tech culture is that apps can solve everything but this is a much harder problem than that, requiring a societal and possibly government response. I don't think you can even begin to address it at the scale of one startup, at best you can skim some money off the top.
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  This is the sort of issue that the term 'wicked problem' was coined for. It's a unique issue, with society-wide consequences, no clear boundaries, and no clear solutions. Solving it with a startup is unimaginably glib. Sure, some could probably help, but I imagine they'll either be palliatives (like 7 Cups of Tea) or enablers for human actions (like Skype). I normally assume that "startups will solve it all!" is more of an exaggeration than an actual opinion, but this thread has me doubting myself.
cousin_it 10y ago
Imagine an old depressed person who needs a daily dose of human empathy, just like everyone else, but can't give anything in return. Can your startup help such a person? I'm with the other commenter, this is a societal problem. To make even a small dent, we need an army of volunteers with calliagnosia or Williams syndrome, or something even more drastic...
- baron816 10y ago
  I don't know for sure if it's possible to use an app to help those kinds of people, but I honestly believe that it doesn't take much more than a comfortable environment and convenient access to people to bring them together. I'm at least giving it a shot.
  - cousin_it 10y ago
    Bringing depressed people together doesn't help them. They need attention from non-depressed people, who abandoned them for the freedom of modernity. Solving this problem won't be win-win, so a startup won't help. Just like you can't make a startup to redistribute money from rich people to poor people. It's a task for charity or government.
    - baron816 10y ago
      I'm not aiming to bring depressed people together. I'm aiming to bring people together, depressed or not. I think no matter who you are, going from a situation where you know no or few people who live close to you, to one where you suddenly know and have access to people who are within walking distance would make a huge difference on your life. Will that solve all of a depressed person's problems? I don't know, but I think it could go a long way towards helping them. Access, in my opinion, is the main issue here. That's what I'm working on.
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - minikites 10y ago
        Another thing to consider: Why are they lonely? Maybe they're new in town, maybe they're socially awkward, maybe they've been ostracized from previous groups because they're a sociopath. What happens when you bring a lonely person seeking validation to meet a manipulative sociopath?
        10y ago

minikites 10y ago

I know a popular meme in SV/tech culture is that apps can solve everything but this is a much harder problem than that, requiring a societal and possibly government response. I don't think you can even begin to address it at the scale of one startup, at best you can skim some money off the top.

Bartweiss 10y ago
This is the sort of issue that the term 'wicked problem' was coined for. It's a unique issue, with society-wide consequences, no clear boundaries, and no clear solutions. Solving it with a startup is unimaginably glib. Sure, some could probably help, but I imagine they'll either be palliatives (like 7 Cups of Tea) or enablers for human actions (like Skype). I normally assume that "startups will solve it all!" is more of an exaggeration than an actual opinion, but this thread has me doubting myself.

cousin_it 10y ago

Imagine an old depressed person who needs a daily dose of human empathy, just like everyone else, but can't give anything in return. Can your startup help such a person? I'm with the other commenter, this is a societal problem. To make even a small dent, we need an army of volunteers with calliagnosia or Williams syndrome, or something even more drastic...

baron816 10y ago
I don't know for sure if it's possible to use an app to help those kinds of people, but I honestly believe that it doesn't take much more than a comfortable environment and convenient access to people to bring them together. I'm at least giving it a shot.
- cousin_it 10y ago
  Bringing depressed people together doesn't help them. They need attention from non-depressed people, who abandoned them for the freedom of modernity. Solving this problem won't be win-win, so a startup won't help. Just like you can't make a startup to redistribute money from rich people to poor people. It's a task for charity or government.
  - baron816 10y ago
    I'm not aiming to bring depressed people together. I'm aiming to bring people together, depressed or not. I think no matter who you are, going from a situation where you know no or few people who live close to you, to one where you suddenly know and have access to people who are within walking distance would make a huge difference on your life. Will that solve all of a depressed person's problems? I don't know, but I think it could go a long way towards helping them. Access, in my opinion, is the main issue here. That's what I'm working on.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - minikites 10y ago
      Another thing to consider: Why are they lonely? Maybe they're new in town, maybe they're socially awkward, maybe they've been ostracized from previous groups because they're a sociopath. What happens when you bring a lonely person seeking validation to meet a manipulative sociopath?
      - 10y ago