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Ventilen, a Danish organization to address loneliness in young people
- ikeyany 7y agoIt sounds like they're tackling isolation, not loneliness. There is a vital distinction between the two.
- jmartinpetersen 7y agoI would assume that it's rather difficult to help loneliness in isolated individuals?
- ikeyany 7y agoIsolation as a problem is a big deal and worth addressing. However, the most lonely people I've met are those who have no problem finding other people to be around.
- vermarish 7y agoFor clarification, I assume the opposite of isolation would be connectedness? And what would be the opposite of loneliness?
- AstralStorm 7y agoFriendship or more. Of which not being isolated is an important component, necessary but not sufficient.
- slx26 7y agobelongingness (fulfilled) ?
- jmartinpetersen 7y agoVentilen, or “friend to one” in Danish, That's an unusual translation. A more obvious would be "valve" or just "vent". - Edit after coffee: "Ven til en" actually means "friend of one". Amazing how faulty pattern recognition can lead you astray.
- christkv 7y agoVentilen would still make sense in this setting :)
- Svip 7y agoI think a more appropriate translation would be 'friend for one', as it can be read as an offer. »Ven til en« is obviously an unusual way of phrasing it, but replace »ven« with any commodity you can purchase, then it sounds more like an offer (a free one, that is). That being said, 'friend of one' is definitely an accurate translation as well. And 'friend to one' is just the literal translation. I wonder how they pronounce it, »ven til en« or »ventilen«.
- jacobush 7y agoOk I'm Swedish, but my reading is "friend of someone" combined with "friend of you". It's hard to explain but it holds these 2 meanings very closely. Plus the pun of "valve" in the same word, which is also fitting, for letting out steam. Besides it sounds great in English. Sounds like a new expensive drug. Imagine the TV commercial: "Contact your doctor to learn if Ventilen is for you. May cause hair loss, liver failure and bla bla bla. "
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y agoThere Salbutamol, marketed as Ventolin, used to treat asthma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salbutamol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salbutamol
- ggg2 7y agobut do you still think of "friend to one/you/someone" when it is spoken "ventilen" as one word?
- jacobush 7y agoNo. Then it’s just ”the valve”.
- 7y ago
- vmarius 7y agoIt is better than nothing, but is not scalable. We at nothing_here building a tool which will help fight loneliness online. (I have removed the link, not really trying to sell anything to anyone)
- furi 7y agoHumans talking to other humans in the local area and doing things together exists all over the world and has done since the dawn of time, what part of it isn't scalable?
- vmarius 7y agoThanks furi, good point. Humans indeed talked to each other and have done things together since the dawn of time. But the problem is that our way of living has changed significantly during recent years. Most of the people simply don't have the possibility to gather around and talk about their life/problems. It is becoming a luxury to have a live talk with a real person. I am sure that the above mentioned organization is doing great job helping people, but the answer to your question why it is not scalable is that such approach can help only to a very limited amount of people. Why ? Because: - meeting in person is not always possible - meeting in persion is not always desirable - it is limited only to local areas
- AstralStorm 7y ago1) Not always possible? Attack the reason why. It's often either work or study, which can be changed given enough political pressure, or kids, which sometimes can be included, sometimes not 2) Undesirable? Please elaborate. 3) Transportation widens local for the rich to a wide area for few day trips, which is a scheduling problem. For a day trip, mark a circle with 8h travel diameter. It is relatively far, yet here we are, anonymous in cities.
- vmarius 7y ago1) physically impossible - large distances, time consuming, fear 2) it is hard to discuss many (if not most) personal issues in personal or in group meetings. Suicidal thoughts, depression, life advice - you cannot simply go out there and discuss all these during your first/tenth meeting with a person in private.
- cybersnowflake 7y agoloneliness is a much bigger problem for older people. why not start there?
- Fredej 7y agoThere are other organizations tackling that issue. People doing something to benefit others should not be looked down on just because they could spend their time tackling another problem.
- zwaps 7y agoThe article states it is a large problem for young people. How do you know it is a bigger problem for old people?
- AstralStorm 7y agoIt is one of those problems which has a tendency to cumulate. Fewer friends you have earlier, fewer you have later in life still. Well connected people tend to stay that way.
- cybersnowflake 7y agocommon sense and observation, its relatively easier for a person overall to make connections during schooling years. Once people pair up and disperse into the workplace and especially after they start up families it becomes much more difficult for the odd man out.
- gpvos 7y agoAll the better to try to tackle the problem early on.
- Copenjin 7y agoI find the fact that you got downvoted and the subdued scorn of some of the replies you got quite "amusing".
- 7y ago
- InfinityByTen 7y agoGoes on to say how really "happy" a happy country is.
- pencillr 7y agoThis is a big problem in modern society especially for young adults. We're not meant for this. I know it's a bit "Hararish" to look it this way but really: "Yesterday" we were just living in small tribes together and being lonely was hard to imagine. Now you can end up having everyone you call a 'friend' on the other side of some screen and end up totally friendless in your 20's.
- Razengan 7y agoWhat exacerbates it is that modern venues for finding someone to connect with, are all heavily controlled and/or monetized. Services like OKCupid actually actively hinder relevant matches unless you pay them and keep paying them. Places like Reddit are hit and miss, heavily dependent on the time you post, and you not only have to risk your privacy to find good matches, you have to gain the approval of everyone else who could remove your post from visibility. I miss IRC, but of course even that was far from perfect, and had its own risks. This isn't just about dating, but finding friends with similar interests at all. With 8 billion people on the planet and all the connectivity, you'd think this would be easier for everyone by now.
- dijit 7y agoFor some of us IRC never went away. It’s my primary social outlet, and I’m closing in on 30. Maybe I’m a bit special as I moved countries a fair bit in my 20s, and making friends in adulthood is difficult. Shameless plug; if you want to join us (we are roughly 400 people) then the network is ircs://irc.drk.sc:6697/#darkscience
- Razengan 7y agoLove countries who acknowledge and at least attempt to tackle such issues.
- LeonidasXIV 7y agoDenmark is somewhat more extreme in that regard because people often retain their friendships from primary school or kindergarten so social circles are very difficult to enter for latecomers e.g. if you have moved cities within the country or came from abroad. Of course, not universally true but it is pretty common and the woman in the article does mention moving cities.
- spinach 7y agoLast year Britain appointed a Minister for Loneliness.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- Copenjin 7y agoIt's nice to see someone trying to tackle these kind of problems. Hard to fix, possible to somewhat improve.
- helloindia 7y ago<<-- She developed chronic pain because she did not move enough. “I didn’t want to leave my home because I didn’t need to, and everyone was very busy.” -->> As a loner, I avoid this by making sure I walk 10,000 steps a day. I go for walk in a nearby park, morning and evening, each 45 minutes. I also use this time, to catch up on music, podcast or anything I can listen to.
- Razengan 7y ago> As a loner, I avoid this by making sure I walk 10,000 steps a day. Can't recommend this enough, though you need to be in a "walkable" enough city. It's one of the best breaks you can take especially if you sit at a desk most of the day. I love discovering urban nooks and crannies that I would miss if I took a car or train. The Apple Watch or any other tracker that can map your route etc. can help with that a lot.
- ggg2 7y agowhat do you mean walkable city? a walkable city you do 10k steps without even noticing! a US city that is not NY or boston in summer you have to drive to a park/beach like you would to a gym, do your steps and drive back home.
- estsauver 7y agoRecently, there was a HN post about how volunteering was found to be the best overall solution for depression in young adults. I'm not particularly depressed, but I do live in a foreign country that, while incredibly friendly to expats, is notoriously difficult to make friends in. I started volunteering at a local organization that teaches refugees how to code, and I just have to say that it's been incredibly rewarding already. I've only been to two of their events but the sense of community that you get there is really overwhelming. The funny thing about this is the work isn't very different from what I'd be doing on a day to day. Code reviews and a little bit of teaching. It's not that I feel I'm doing an especially large amount of good, I think my day-job definitely outpaces the volunteering in terms of net good done in the world. But there is something about community that's incredibly powerful.
- maslam 7y agoIs this Amsterdam? Sounds like the perfect description!
- yakshaving_jgt 7y agoSounds like Sweden to me.
- peterpost 7y agoSame
- alltakendamned 7y agoIf there's an organisation in Sweden doing the same thing, I'd love to know about it. I might be inclined to volunteer there.
- Nullabillity 7y agoInicio[0] is the closest I know of (in Kista). They are very nice people who do good work, but since it's mostly targeted towards students their events tend to be during working hours. [0]: http://www.meetinicio.org/ http://www.meetinicio.org/
- walshemj 7y agoInteresting the Carnegie foundation did something similar in the UK around 1941 and set up 18 Plus after they did a study called "Disinherited Youth". And there is "our" competitor Rotaract the youth arm of Rotory - they tend a bit more to charity though.
- mapcars 7y agoLoneliness is based on a feeling of disconnectedness, but what are you disconnected from? Please see you cannot be alive and disconnected, you are always connected to the rest of the universe. Does it mean you always have people you are comfortable with who are saying nice things to you? No, everyone has it's own life, views, interests and it's entirely possible no one around you shares yours. So what, people are different. I think society puts too much stress on it that everyone has to have a bunch of friends, fellows, do birthday parties, shopping and whatever is fashionable in that place. And people who don't have it at some point in life get stressed. On the other hand, being alone means guess what? Freedom - you don't have to belong anymore, you don't have to share opinions or views, you don't have to fit someone's "standards". You can go and do what you want without having to share time and energy with others. It's a great thing many glorify, talk about and complain about not having it. But if they get it most people freak out and turn the possibility into a problem. In other words, if one finds himself in this position it's a personal choice to be free or be lonely.
- scirocco 7y agoThis highlights why golf is such a great sport. Four hours of emotional rollercoaster spent in nature your friends (or other members at your club you just happen to go the round with).