Trend 10

Digital loneliness

Ever more connected, yet ever more alone.

Trend axes

FOMO
Nomophobia
Isolation paradox
Digital responsibility

Some figures

61%

Of adults in the United States report sometimes or always feeling lonely, according to the Cigna Loneliness Index.

Cigarettes a day is what the feeling of loneliness is equivalent to, according to a study by Sarvada Chandra Tiwari.

5.2

Average hours of mobile device use by users in Thailand in 2020, making it the world leader in this respect.

45%

Higher likelihood of dying among older people who report feeling lonely, according to the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).

The loneliness paradox in a hyperconnected society

Social distancing, remote working and international quarantines to tackle the pandemic have made the feeling of loneliness worse, even though online connections have multiplied. These measures are key to preventing transmission, but they can have a huge social and mental cost: fostering a sense of isolation between people and making us forget that we are in this together. A problem that is even worse among older people. Technology creates a false illusion of social connection. All the time we spend online can connect us in amazing ways, but it can also make us feel isolated.

Deep interpersonal relationships are increasingly undermined by the immediacy of online life, and it is also harder to carry out activities that require a degree of trust.

Technology ends up distracting us with endless content and stops us from recognising how few and how poor our interpersonal relationships are. Even so, technology cannot take all the blame because, at times, it is hard to know whether we feel lonelier because of all the time we spend online or whether we spend so much time online because we feel, and are, more alone. The solution? It may lie in education, unlearning and detox…

Cases

01 / 04

Zorraquino spotlights

01
Feeling lonely when we are hyperconnected seems like a contradiction. But the facts show how constant connection amplifies that loneliness.
02
Endless possibilities for interaction reduce our tolerance of solitude, while raising expectations about the number and frequency of our connections.
03
With the pandemic and social isolation, we have learnt that the more we use technology, the more we want to be with other people in person.

Zorraquino playlist

Alone Again orLove · 1967
No Mires a los Ojos de la GenteGolpes Bajos · 1983
Hombre de ninguna parteXoel López · 2012

See the whole playlist Listen on Spotify

Digital loneliness

The loneliness paradox in a hyperconnected society

Cases

More on the trend

References