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Loneliness is transmittable from person to person, study finds
- noelchurchill 17y agoSomeone posted an article here on HN once which talked about how peoples general dispositions was transmittable to people up to two or three degrees of separation from yourself. So if you're in a bad mood then that attitude can spread to your friends of friends of friends. Anyone else remember reading that article? I'd like to bookmark it.
- noelchurchill 17y agoFound the article I was thinking of: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1865960,00.html http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1865960,00.html
- mdemare 17y agoIf loneliness is contagious, can we cure it by placing lonely people in quarantine?
- bd 17y agoIsn't this happening already by definition? lone_ly \'lo_n-le_\ 1a: being without company: LONE b: cut off from others: SOLITARY 2: not frequented by human beings: DESOLATE
- heed 17y agoWhat if someone appears to be lonely, but doesn't actually feel lonely?
- jongraehl 17y ago> "It is unclear whether their statistical model will 'find' social contagion in every outcome they examine because of the limitations," Jason M. Fletcher of Yale University wrote in an e-mail. He and a colleague conducted a similar analysis using data from a large federal survey to show that acne, headaches and even height could appear to be spread through social networks if not analyzed properly. The inclusion of this caveat makes this an above-average piece of science reporting.
- gojomo 17y agoNote to self: avoid everyone, just in case they've got contagious loneliness. Problem solved!
- Mz 17y agoOr maybe it is literally contagious (ie a pathogen): http://www.canlyme.com/minddisease.html http://www.canlyme.com/minddisease.html