# Digital loneliness · Digital Trends 2021 · Zorraquino > Ever more connected, yet ever more alone. URL: https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/digital-loneliness ![Digital loneliness: Ever more connected, yet ever more alone.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0w1142l8/production/1b200ee758b353876a4b1f958289b1d292525c4f-1920x1280.webp/digital-loneliness-ever-more-connected-yet-ever-more-alone.webp?w=1600&fit=max&auto=format&q=85) Trend 10 # Digital loneliness 1. [Digital Trends 2021Home](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021) 2. [Trend 01Optimize video](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/optimize-video) 3. [Trend 02Flexible devices](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/flexible-devices) 4. [Trend 03Deepfaked media](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/deepfaked-media) 5. [Trend 04Reinventing drones](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/reinventing-drones) 6. [Trend 05New digital twins](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/new-digital-twins) 7. [Trend 06Immortality tech](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/immortality-tech) 8. [Trend 07Nostalgic design](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/nostalgic-design) 9. [Trend 08Livestreaming boom](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/livestreaming-boom) 10. [Trend 09Automation tools](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/automation-tools) 11. [Trend 10Digital loneliness](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/digital-loneliness) 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. 15 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 1. 01 Feeling lonely when we are hyperconnected seems like a contradiction. But the facts show how constant connection amplifies that loneliness. 2. 02 Endless possibilities for interaction reduce our tolerance of solitude, while raising expectations about the number and frequency of our connections. 3. 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](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/digital-trends-2021/playlist)[Listen on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59NooVXWi9gM1raA06ojfr) ## More on the trend ### References - [Coronavirus and the Isolation Paradox](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/opinion/coronavirus-social-distancing.html) - [How tech and social media are making us feel lonelier than ever](https://www.cnet.com/features/how-tech-and-social-media-are-making-us-feel-lonelier-than-ever/) - [You can only really count on 4 of your 150 Facebook friends, study says](https://www.cnet.com/news/only-4-of-your-150-facebook-friends-are-actual-friends-says-study/) - [The Death of FOMO As We Knew It](https://www.wired.com/story/death-of-fomo/) - [Cigna Takes Action To Combat The Rise Of Loneliness And Improve Mental Wellness In America](https://www.cigna.com/about-us/newsroom/news-and-views/press-releases/2020/cigna-takes-action-to-combat-the-rise-of-loneliness-and-improve-mental-wellness-inamerica) - [Has Social Media Ruined The Idea Of Friendship?](https://www.forbes.com/sites/irabedzow/2021/01/13/has-social-media-ruined-the-idea-of-friendship/?sh=1c2bdea774e7) - [Loneliness: A disease?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3890922/) - [Social Companion Robots to Reduce Isolation: A Perception Change Due to COVID-19](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.05382.pdf) - [We help people get closer, faster](https://www.skipthesmalltalk.org/) - [5 tools for digital detox](https://www.adg-fad.org/es/laus/proyecto/5-tools-digital-detox) - [Embodied Moxie](https://embodied.com/products/moxie-reservation) - [Osanpo Kanojo My girlfriend in walk](http://conference.vrsj.org/ac2020/program/doc/3B3-12%5FPR0117.pdf) - [Radio Recliner. Keeping apart. Staying Together](https://radiorecliner.com/) - [Fable Studio Virtual Beings](https://fable-studio.com/) Pages 153–168 of the report [![Consumer Trends 2021 cover: a woman wearing a face mask looks through clothes on a rail in a shop.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0w1142l8/production/b2bb90458410bd92e0f6786e7f27ac17be6a3603-2400x1351.webp/consumer-trends-2021-cover-a-woman-wearing-a-face-mask-looks-through-clothes-on.webp?w=1600&fit=max&auto=format&q=85)](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/consumer-trends-2021) Next report [Consumer Trends 2021](https://www.zorraquino.com/en/trends/consumer-trends-2021)