The Four Faces Of Social Isolation

Everyone likes to be around other people. One reason is that social interactions are intrinsically rewarding. The other is that it helps people feel secure. Social isolation is toxic, because it poses a threat to our safety and well-being, but our need for other people is so strong, that if we don't believe we'll be able to be around others, it can even incite feelings of physical pain.

Social isolation can affect society in a noticeable way, with countless studies highlighting the negative impact it has on the health of individuals. It's now also believed to be contributing factors to often neglected, yet serious mental illness problems, such as depression and loneliness and the community might not address the issue, if people don't feel like they can talk about it.

The Four Faces Of Social Isolation

There are many ways to be alone. Younger and older people, rich and poor, men and women can all experience isolation in different ways. People can feel extraordinarily connected while also being completely alone. However, everyone can identify with one or more of the four types of isolation listed below:

Alone Together: The Extinction Of Private Life

One hallmark of the modern age is that the boundary between "public" and "private" has become increasingly permeable. Most of our interactions are not only known to others, but expected to be shared.

Even in small ways, it is often expected that we post things on social media websites, talk about our private lives in telephone conversations with total strangers, or brags about our latest conquest on our Facebook "page". The desire to share has overtaken many aspects of our lives, but at what cost?

Reasons for feeling isolated can vary greatly. While some people may be content with the assumption, that their lives are not interesting enough to be of interest to others, or that their problems are too petty to bother with, there are many others for whom such assumptions would be false.

Not everyone can be interesting, and not everyone wants to be. Some would rather live in quiet anonymity, than sacrifice their private lives for the sake of public recognition.

What matters is the recognition of your right to live privately. The modern world has encroached upon such things as the right to privacy, and we in the online community are not immune. From the "accidental" posting of intimate pictures and videos, to the use of hidden-camera "pranks", to the posting of information, that can not be unseen, our right to privacy has been slowly chipped away at.

This should not be; nobody should have to sacrifice their right to lead a private life just to keep up with the times.

As the modern world becomes increasingly reliant on computers, the future of private life becomes increasingly precarious. In order to ensure the continued enjoyment of a private life in the future, now is the time to cherish your right to privacy.

Loneliness: A Quick Buzz Of The Heart

When you are lonely, time seems to slow down and speed up all at once. The seconds seem to last hours, and the minutes seem to last days. You often find yourself daydreaming or doing mindless activities, such as staring at the ceiling, or chewing on a cuticle, or running your fingers along a piece of furniture you cannot name.

You often find yourself longing for the company of others, and feel an immense loss, when someone you have not seen in a while decides to end a friendship with you and then, there is the ache. Sometimes a small part of you still believes, hopes even, that you are just waiting for someone, who will make all this pain worth it, who will make everything better again. Sometimes you have to look at the person you love in order to remind yourself, that this pain is worthwhile, but even then it is not enough. Even though you know that he/she is out there, somewhere. You just need to keep looking.

Loneliness is a real disease, and it can be cured. However, it takes a lot of effort. If you are to dedicate yourself to your loneliness, you need to accept, that this is how your life is now. If you are to cure it, then you need to find ways to distract yourself. If you are to move past it, then you need to find the strength to carry on.

Alone: No More, No Less

At times you feel "alone". Perhaps you've been hurt in the past and have become a bit more guarded with your emotions. Perhaps you have built up walls around yourself, refusing to let anyone close. Perhaps you were a loner all your life and never learned, that it's OK to want and need someone else. Whatever the reason, you are alone, and you aren't sure you like it.

But, being alone isn't all bad. You've gotten to know and appreciate yourself a lot better this way. You've learned to rely on yourself before trying it with others. You don't need anyone to complete you, because you are perfect just the way you are.

You have become more independent and as a result, stronger. You have also learned to cherish the little things in life, because one day you may not have them any more. You have become better and stronger, because you were alone. It is only because you were alone, that you were able to face all these things and ultimately overcome them.

As you grow older, you may change your mind about being alone. You may one day find, that you do desire human connection and need it to be happy. But for now, you are content with your life and your choice.

Weightless: Nothing Stands Between You And The Void

You are weightless. No, not literally, but in your mind. Your mind is all you have to keep you grounded in this world. It is all you need to keep yourself from drifting away into nothingness.

You have become almost unable to feel anything physically. You have become so adept at disregarding your body, that you forget that it even exists. You can't feel anything physical, but you can sense all the emotions around you. You can sense, when someone is lying about something. You can sense, when someone doesn't have their emotions under control. You can even sense a hostile presence from across the room, just by sensing the emotion of fear in a person.

You have become so good at picking up on these things, you sometimes wonder how you ever missed things before. It's like you've got a radar built into your head now, and you can't miss anything anymore. It's a strange thing to have this much information, this much awareness and not know what to do with it.

There's so much going on all the time, you feel overwhelmed. There's so much information coming at you all the time, and you're not sure what's true and what isn't. How do you know what to make of all this? It's all just so confusing.