For over
10.000 years humans have been living in groups of mostly up to 150 people.
These groups were the good size for our social brain to cooperate with and have
understanding for. In current society we have more than 1000 friends on our
Facebook and other social media profiles. People interact with 25 individuals a
day averagely, counting both online and real life encounters of other human
beings. So we are meeting and talking to more people on daily basis than ever
before. It has become easier to meet, chat and interact with people. We can
share our knowledge across the globe in seconds with just a few clicks away.
Usually when we read something we click on the share button on the article or
other pages we’ve visited online. We can instantly share our interests with our
friends. Online! What do we lack of social interaction in our contemporary society?
We still
lack the social virtue we look for. More and more people start feeling alone.
They feel like they’re lacking their social needs. Especially youth are having
the issue of lack in both attention and social needs. Research shows that one
in four people between the ages 16 and 35 feel lonely. These tests were
performed in different countries and different places around the world. Some
researches in USA even report up to 50% of people feeling lonely. These results
give it the qualifications to be called an epidemic. The epidemic is growing.
The participants of the research have also proven that interacting with people
doesn’t mean that they feel socially engaged. Many people feel lonely even when
working or studying. Social needs need to be satisfied by interacting in a
positive stimulating way. Compliments and joy are both the most effective way
of filling those needs.
Lonely
people are more likely to find other ways to get the attention they miss. The
human brain has a great mechanism in adapting and satisfying our needs, thus
altering our way of achieving the goals constantly. We are constantly changing
our behavior unconsciously to adapt our surroundings. It’s this beautiful
ability that made us adapt so easily to our environments and survive as long as
we did. The best skill a human has is in the brain. Not the conscious brain,
but the unconscious adaptability. In this situation the brain makes up a lot of
attention seeking issues which have become another great issue in youth and
young adults.
The
solution is straight in front of us. No. Not the phone or computer. The steps we
take to the outside world and the actual people surrounding us. In most times
the people that are not so far away from us provide us with the best social satisfaction.
Putting aside the virtual needs and unconscious issues we create will provide
us with the steps forward to fighting the loneliness. Another thing we can do
together as one human community is to involve the people we don’t know, and the
lonely into our social interactions. Get to know people.
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