4 ms·

It's more of a journalist epidemic - they keep reaching for straw-men to justify their existence. Talking about loneliness is slightly more interesting than wh

It's more of a journalist epidemic - they keep reaching for straw-men to justify their existence. Talking about loneliness is slightly more interesting than what dress celebrity X wore at event Y. It's just bullshit - at least the dress talk doesn't pretend otherwise, for the most part. We're living in the greatest time ever. I understand that when you make no money and you're writing articles, it may seem like there is a loneliness epidemic. There isn't - we're doing better than ever. More people are having first world problems than ever. It's great to have those, just talk to someone with a little perspective that you respect for it to rub off on you and go on about your day :)

condercet 7y ago
On the contrary, many of the people I've met who most definitely do not have first world problems -- people living in Africa, Southeast Asia, and other destitute parts of the world -- often seem to lead genuinely happier lives than the stressed out existence that is the norm in the US. Being able to have a cheeseburger delivered on demand does not make up for systematic loneliness and dehumanization. The more I travel, the more perspective I get, the more I think that things have gone deeply wrong here.
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imiric 7y ago
> We're living in the greatest time ever. I understand that when you make no money and you're writing articles, it may seem like there is a loneliness epidemic. There isn't - we're doing better than ever. I don't understand how you can claim that with a straight face. Did you read the article? 14% of the UK population say they experience loneliness "often" or "always". 46% of a 20,000 people study in the US reported "sometimes" or "often". Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan can be classified as hikikomori, living a lifestyle of extreme social isolation. There are similar numbers in most industrialized nations. Downplaying or ignoring these facts is a terrible disservice to mental health, just as we did for decades with depression. This is indeed a global epidemic and I applaud the UK for introducing health programs to tackle it.

condercet 7y ago

On the contrary, many of the people I've met who most definitely do not have first world problems -- people living in Africa, Southeast Asia, and other destitute parts of the world -- often seem to lead genuinely happier lives than the stressed out existence that is the norm in the US. Being able to have a cheeseburger delivered on demand does not make up for systematic loneliness and dehumanization. The more I travel, the more perspective I get, the more I think that things have gone deeply wrong here.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

imiric 7y ago

> We're living in the greatest time ever. I understand that when you make no money and you're writing articles, it may seem like there is a loneliness epidemic. There isn't - we're doing better than ever. I don't understand how you can claim that with a straight face. Did you read the article? 14% of the UK population say they experience loneliness "often" or "always". 46% of a 20,000 people study in the US reported "sometimes" or "often". Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan can be classified as hikikomori, living a lifestyle of extreme social isolation. There are similar numbers in most industrialized nations. Downplaying or ignoring these facts is a terrible disservice to mental health, just as we did for decades with depression. This is indeed a global epidemic and I applaud the UK for introducing health programs to tackle it.