Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic in America last year, inciting a frenzy of studies on the root for this social shift. For the New York Times, tech columnist Brian X. Cheng writes that this sent him down a "rabbit hole" of his own as he tried to learn how technology was contributing to the epidemic. He writes that three main technology habits that exacerbate loneliness cropped up:
- Comparing: On apps like Instagram, people often find themselves comparing aspects of their lives, including looks and fitness, with posts that don't always reflect reality. Cheng suggests turning off "like" and "share" counts in apps and using the new "favorite" feature to favor content from accounts that don't incite FOMO. Or just take a pause.
- Texting: Another recipe for loneliness is replacing more personal forms of communication, like telephone or video calls, with text messages. Texting has become the most preferred method of communication, but it also lacks human elements, like seeing someone's face or hearing their voice. It also leaves a lot of room for interpretation or anxiety, such as leaving someone "on read" instead of responding quickly. "I can't underscore just how powerful it is to have a few moments of authentic interaction with somebody where you can hear their voice and see their face," says Murthy.
- Binge-watching: Streaming videos can exacerbate loneliness because it keeps people indoors and glued to screens—especially with sticky algorithms and features like Netfix's autoplay. Studies show binge-watching can incite "depression, anxiety and, to some extent, loneliness," writes Cheng. Though Meta and TikTok set screen time limits for teenage users, little headway has been made to discourage binge-watching.
Read the
full story. (Tweens parrot their parents'
phone habits.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
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