Are We Getting Lonelier?

Experts are divided on whether modern lifestyle factors, like social media use and smaller family units, are leading to greater lonliness. Either way: What can we do about it? We explore in this episode of BrainStuff.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff Works. Hey there,
brain stuff, Lauren vogelbam here. When British Prime Minister Theresa
May proclaimed a new Minister for Loneliness in January, some
people were a little incredulous. Stephen Colbert jibed, this is
so British. They've defined the most ineffable human problem and
come up with the most cold, bureaucratic solution. The Bricks

(00:24):
already had a loneliness commission. It was the project of
Joe Cox, the member of Parliament who was murdered in
continuing this loneliness work is a statement in her memory.
But loneliness has become an increasing object of study as
researchers try to quantify what was once simply considered a
matter of the heart. Many researchers say loneliness is a
growing problem, but is that true? Are people really more

(00:47):
lonely than they used to be? In Britain, one person
in ten is said to be lonely, and last year
a Brigham Young professor laid out the evidence for an
epidemic of loneliness before the U S Senate Aging Committee.
Psychologist Lean Holt Lunstead told the group that the average
size of American social networks is decreasing, and more than
eight million older adults are now socially isolated. Behavioral scientist

(01:11):
Brian Primack with the University of Pittsburgh also gives the
idea credence. He said, there are a lot of different
trends in society that make an increase in loneliness more likely.
There are fewer and fewer ways to connect with individuals
in person. Primic is among researchers measuring the connection between
social media and loneliness. Historically, people lived in smaller spaces

(01:32):
with larger families, but modern America is an individualistic society.
He pointed out. Everyone has their own car, their own room,
their own TV. There's much less of a sense of sharing.
But we are social creatures who over time developed face
to face ways of interacting using eye contact, gestures and
other methods. He said, We're not interacting as much face
to face anymore. We're using screens and automated menus instead.

(01:55):
The automation of so many things makes it less likely
to interact with other humans. According to Primic, those little
things do add up. A study done by Primic and
his colleagues showed a strong relation between social media use
and loneliness. Their survey of one thousand, seven hundred and
eighty seven young adults showed that those who visited social
media sites more than fifty eight times a week were

(02:16):
three times more likely to be lonely than in frequent users.
Those who used social media two hours a day were
twice as likely to be lonely. Primic said every amount
of social media use is associated with an increase, but
Hector L. Carl recently got a bit huffy in the
Huffington's post about the subject. He's a researcher in cognitive
systems and interactive media at the Institute for Bioengineering of

(02:38):
Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. Smartphones are instruments of communication, he wrote,
not devices that reduce it. People on social media have
larger social networks and they're connecting in new ways. In
a recent email with us, he agreed that some uses
of smartphones or social media can be harmful and that
some people get addicted, but said it's unfair to simply

(02:59):
say that social media is ruining as socially because I
believe that its effects are mostly positive. Primic is quick
to say that his study only showed tendencies, these results
can't be applied to everyone. People use social media in
different ways, from liking cute pictures to badgering strangers over politics.
Research can point out positive uses versus negative ones. He said,

(03:20):
But is this just a new take on an old problem.
Whether loneliness is increasing or not, there seems to be
a change in the way we discuss it. Appointing a
Minister of Feelings seems to put the primary approach on
feelings rather than the social conditions that lead to them.
And as for research, biologists and neuroscientists are now investigating
the things that psychologists formerly investigated, and psychologists took over

(03:42):
from religious leaders who used to lead the discussion on
matters of the heart and soul. And yet another way
to approach the subject is to talk about alienation, as
Karl Marks did. So are people really lonelier than we
used to be? Or is the concern mostly in effort
to get a handle on a new social structure and
the impact of new technolog g Regardless, the UK has

(04:02):
a Minister of Loneliness ready to tackle the problem. And hey,
bonus back to the day, is it worse to be
lonely or to smoke? Fifteen cigarettes a day. Researcher Julianne
Holtland's did in her colleagues say that loneliness has a
greater negative impact on health than cigarettes. Today's episode is

(04:23):
written by Stell Simonton and produced by Tristan McNeil. For
more on this and lots of other social topics, visit
our home planet, how stuff works dot com.