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Right now, we have all kinds of laws that impact the impact on the budget, regardless of the impact of the feeling of social isolation. Appointing a minister responsible for loneliness would mean that each new social, economic and legislative text submitted to Parliament would ask the following question: "How does this affect people's ability to connect with each other?"
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For many people, loneliness is a ridiculous notion supported by left-handed and bleeding hearts – until they experience it or meet someone who suffers from it. They must not go far either. In 2016, 82.5% of Australians who responded to a Lifeline survey admitted feeling lonely and a recent OmniPoll survey found that the average number of close friends of a person had almost halved in 13 years.
While the number of close friends that seniors tend to decrease naturally tends to decrease, this figure is alarming for younger and middle aged people who should broaden their spheres of influence. and make more and more friends each year.
Between the 1980s and 1990s, well before the Internet and social media, the American futurist John Naisbitt published several books on technology and well-being. He then predicted that, if technology began to dominate our lives in the coming decades (the zone of technological intoxication, he called), mental illness and isolation would be the only way to make a difference. would aggravate alarmingly. Much of that, he said, comes from our growing inability to say what is real about what is wrong. Sound familiar? In addition to false information, we now have genetically modified (fictional) animals and what many people consider to be fake (crypto) coins. And are our "friends" on social media really real?
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Technology is largely at fault because children are increasingly refusing to play ball in the park for one-way involvement in a video game or social media. And yet, social media can also play a role in connecting children if they are used properly. There is no one to talk to in the bank or the supermarket anymore. Our sprawling suburbs lack connecting points and in many places a car is the only way to get around.
Loneliness does not affect only those who feel it personally. It concerns us all. The impacts on our health system are enormous. A recent study by Harvard University showed that social isolation and loneliness were worse than obesity and had the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. This also leads to an increased risk of stroke, mental health, risk of dementia and suicide.
In my mind, social isolation is a bit like climate change. It started with some academics and social scientists who made terrible warnings long before things became obvious. But at the present time, unprecedented drought, bush fires and tropical cyclones seem to be associated with unprecedented mental health and loneliness problems.
We must act now, otherwise we risk seeing our streets filled with mentally unstable and socially isolated people in the coming decades.
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