essay on does technology make us more alone

The link between loneliness and technology

May 2019, Vol 50, No. 5

Print version: page 36

With so many ways to connect with others digitally, why are people still so lonely? Can technology play a role in reducing our feelings of loneliness? It’s a question some psychologists have been asking, but at this point the research is still mixed, and may depend on an individual’s age.

For example, one study of nearly 600 older adults—led by Michigan State University psychologist William Chopik, PhD—found that social technology use, including email, Facebook, online video services such as Skype and instant messaging, was linked to lower levels of loneliness, better self-rated health and fewer chronic illnesses and depressive symptoms ( Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking , Vol. 19, No. 9, 2016 ).

Other research has shown, however, that among young adults—18- to 22-year-olds, for example—­decreasing time spent on social media can actually reduce feelings of loneliness, according to a study led by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Melissa Hunt, PhD ( Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology , Vol. 37, No. 10, 2018 ).

One thing experts do agree on is that technology is changing the way we’re interacting socially. The difference in its effects seems to lie in how it’s used, says University of Chicago psychologist Louise Hawkley, PhD.

"Those who are substituting online relationships for real relationships, unsurprisingly, don’t see a reduction in loneliness and in fact may actually see a deterioration relative to people who use online interactions to supplement their face-to-face relationships," she says. "For older adults who use Skype to talk with their grandkids who live across the country from them, technology really can improve their sense of connectedness."

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The Now  - Is Technology Making Us Lonely?

The now  -, is technology making us lonely, the now is technology making us lonely.

The Now: Is Technology Making Us Lonely?

Lesson 34: is technology making us lonely.

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Is technology making us lonely?

Over the past few decades, technology like smartphones and social media, has forever changed the way we interact with one another. But during that same period, studies have found that people have grown more and more lonely, and which is having  negative effects on societies around the world. So, we can't help but wonder: Could technology be responsible?

The effects of loneliness

Everyone feels lonely sometimes. After all, loneliness is an unfulfilled need for meaningful personal connection , and that need can hit you whether you’re home alone, or in a crowded room. But if that feeling of loneliness persists, it can have dangerous effects on your physical, mental, and emotional health. 

Some experts believe loneliness is as physically dangerous as obesity or smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. Studies have shown that it lowers your brain’s neuron count, and alters some brain function. Loneliness has also been linked to heart disease, diabetes, substance abuse, and even early death. On top of all that, experts have also found that it affects people across all walks of life , regardless of gender, age, race, or social skills. 

Many nations have declared a loneliness epidemic , as it burdens their healthcare systems, lowers productivity, and diminishes overall quality of life. One study reported that 47 percent of Americans feel they don’t have any meaningful personal connections. The United Kingdom’s loneliness problem has become so prevalent, that they created the Ministry of Loneliness to handle the problem. Other nations like China and Japan are also dealing with widespread social isolation.  

How technology may be a problem

So what’s behind the spike in loneliness?  Although no one is exactly sure, the widespread use of digital screens likely has something to do with it.

Many experts believe that having constant access to technology, specifically smartphones, can prevent us from making personal connections. For many people, it’s become a habit to reach for a smartphone any time they have a free moment, and this behavior could be making our loneliness worse. A University of Arizona study supported this idea, finding that smartphone dependence predicted a higher rate of loneliness and depression in young adults. 

Experts also confirmed that too much social media usage can cause emotional harm. A 2017 study found that heavy social media users were three times more likely to feel socially isolated than casual users. Social media can also make people feel like they’re missing out on meaningful social events , leading to feelings of exclusion, stress, and insecurity. 

Social isolation can also lead some people down troublesome paths online. Individuals with extreme beliefs often seek out lonely people on social media and discussion forums to spread harmful worldviews. Extremism takes advantage of people’s loneliness and anger, giving them a sense of belonging and community while flooding them with hostile content.

How technology can be a solution

While no one should rely on technology to meet all of their social needs, it can be a great starting point that leads to more fulfilling connections. First of all, balanced social media usage can help combat loneliness, especially in populations that have a hard time meeting people face-to-face, such as the elderly. People can also use technology to meet up with a group that shares their interests, or find a romantic partner on a dating app. 

Speaking with someone can be the next best thing to meeting someone in person. For instance, if your good friend lives a thousand miles away, you can give them a call, or voice chat with them while playing a video game together online.

Try to maintain a healthy balance between technology and developing personal connections. No matter who you are or where you’re from, those connections can make a big difference.

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Alone Together, Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

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Is technology causing us to feel lonely?

Learn how to cope with the rise of technology and the digital age.

Does your day consist of Zoom calls, texting your family members to make dinner plans, staying up-to-date on slack messages/emails and spending the rest of your time looking at your Instagram, news and FB feeds? Have you ever been more digitally connected than you are right now? Yet, do you feel more social isolation and loneliness than before?

If any of this resonates with you, then you are not alone. At least half of our population depends on a laptop to fulfill their work functions. Since the pandemic, a lot of us are still doing it all from home causing the real life connections we once had, diminish. Some are even calling this new phenomena a loneliness epidemic.

How Does Technology Impact Loneliness & Mental Health?

There is a growing trend in both the medical and psychology field which studies whether or not technology (and lots of screen time) provokes feelings of loneliness in people and how this impacts our lives over the long term.

Our team spent some time discussing this topic as we have seen it in a vast majority of our clients. We offer some practical recommendations for anyone feeling like the amount of technology that they are consuming is making them feel alone and lonely. Take a read.

What is Loneliness?

First, we wanted to unpack what loneliness is and whether it has a purpose. Loneliness is a reaction to a lack of pleasurable engagement –more so than painful disconnection.

Much like boredom, lonely feelings are bearably uncomfortable sensations that, if experienced for short spurts, can offer an opportunity for self-reflection, creativity and appreciation for loved ones and positive experiences.

Is Loneliness is a Bad Thing?

Loneliness is not a bad emotion to experience. We have always had to live with some form of loneliness in our lives. It does become a problem when it goes from being an infrequent sensation to a chronic emotion that lasts for long periods of time throughout the day. This, in contrast, can lead to depression.

How Does Technology Exacerbate Loneliness?

Technology, whether it is a work app, a game, or social media has been designed to keep you engaged as much as possible, making it difficult to put down your phone, tablet or laptop. When we over consume images and content a few things happen to us:

• We believe that we have endless opportunities for connection and, in consequence, we naturally have a lower tolerance for solitude and being alone when we are off our devices.
• Social platforms have gamified our social networks  making us believe that we can only win and reach success by having the largest network of friends, followers, and colleagues.
• Social media offers us a beautiful and curated presentation of a synthetic world that we naturally aspire for, increasing our need to compare our life and judge ourselves accordingly.
• Technology also distracts us from our immediate lives encouraging us to postpone real life situations like conflict, break ups, uncomfortable conversations.

These are some of the reasons why, when we are off our devices, we feel lonely, fatigued or generally down and we can’t always put it into words as to why that is. We also don’t know what to do with ourselves.

There are some steps you can take to combat the loneliness epidemic.

You Might Need to Take Time Off Technology

First things first, prioritize your time off technology and digital devices.

Now that we know what we are constantly exposing our brains and emotional health to when we are in digital space, we can act on the importance of taking   healthy breaks from it.

How to Take a Break From Technology

Here are a few points which speak to how you can begin to take your life back from technology.

• Start to have modest expectations of friendships and embrace human interaction in a different way. Realistically most people have no more than 1 – 5 people that they would choose to call if they had just had a breakup or needed to be picked up from the hospital.
• Accept loneliness as an emotion that is part of being a human. As long as you are not lonely all the time, it is perfectly normal to feel that sometimes.
• Get comfortable with being alone. Listen to music, read, reflect. Alone time is perfect for journaling and getting your thoughts out on paper. Being alone is also essential for creativity and having some form of creativity in your life is essential for happiness and fulfillment.

You might need more support finding a balance between technology (such as being on your phone) and going on a hike. It is fair to say that after the year that we have had, most of us have struggled with striking this essential balance, and as such, taking a digital audit will be especially useful.

Do You Spend Too Much Time Using Technology?

Stop and reflect on how much time you are spending with technology (eg. computers, smartphones, tablets) and what that activity usually entails.

We can all find times in the day where we do not need to be on our phones or increasing our screen time. It is hard, like we said, especially as many apps are specifically designed to keep us locked in for as long as possible. But try to keep in mind the way technology is affecting you and causing you to feel lonely.

Your Phone is Keeping Tabs on Your Screen Time

Some smartphones (such as iPhone) have a screen time setting where you can see how much time you spend using each app. It can be really eye-opening and sometimes shocking to see how much total time you spend in a day on your phone and what you are really doing during most of that time.

Tips to Take a Break From Technology & Reduce Screen Time

• Keep your phone out of sight during your commute.
• Delete all social media apps from your phone; check these only from a desktop computer.
• Turn all banner-style/pop-up/sound notifications off all other apps (keep the badge-type notifications where you must visually check the app).
• Leave your phone in your pocket or keep it out of sight for meetings/get-togethers/conversations/meals involving other people.
• Don’t take your phone with you into the bathroom or toilet.
• Leave your phone behind when you go out to dinner, lunch or to an evening event/gym session.
• Take your work email off of your phone. Notify everyone in advance that you’re doing this.
• Leave your phone outside your bedroom overnight. Get an alarm clock or turn up the volume on your phone so you can hear its alarm easily from your bed through the door.
• Don’t carry your phone around with you at home. Put your phone in a central place when you return home and go to the location of the phone (rather than carrying it around with you) if you need to check it.
• Keep your phone switched off and stashed away from 7pm Friday to 8am Monday on weekends.
• Keep your phone on airplane mode as default all day. Take it off this mode only when you need to use it.

This long list of ideas can help you start breaking the dependency on digital devices. Start with two, then try three. Start small so that it feels manageable and so that it is sustainable.

Don’t Give Up, Habits Can Be Tough To Break

It may also take a while to change technology habits.

If you fail a few times, don’t beat yourself up about it. Keep working at it. It’s common for people to experience minor setbacks when changing habits especially when it comes to technology given how intertwined it is in our lives.

Also, share what you are planning on doing with your community. It feels good to be supported when you are making adjusts to your life sharing your story may inspire others to do the same.

Help For Lonely Feelings & Setting Limits on Technology

Working with a therapist or life coach is always helpful to breaking unhealthy habits and we have an excellent group of highly trained therapists and life coaches that can work with you any time. Reach out anytime to speak with someone from our team .

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Technolonely: is technology curing loneliness or causing it.

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Sanat is the Chief Business Officer & Global Head of  Finacle , the industry-leading digital banking software platform from Infosys. 

Loneliness has been the subject of literary writing for centuries and academic study since the late 1900s. But it rarely surfaced in public discourse, unless something exceptional, such as a new Minister for Loneliness in the UK, made headlines. Then in 2020, Covid-19 forced many of us into a sort of solitary confinement and pushed loneliness out into the open.

Before the pandemic, people rarely confessed to being lonely — not just because of the stigma, but also because it implied that they were not good enough in some way. The universal isolation of lockdowns erased those reservations to a great extent. So much so that now we can’t stop talking about it.

A big part of the buzz is a polarized conversation on whether the tools and toys of technology are aiding us in our loneliness, or adding to it. For instance, did video chat pull us apart by replacing the conference room, or is it allowing us to stay in touch through months of social distancing? Research studies simply add to the dichotomy: a 2017 study of about 1,800 young Americans aged 19-32 found — counterintuitively — that the likelihood of feeling socially isolated increased dramatically with the duration and frequency of social media usage. While the study can't confirm causation, it does offer a thought-provoking correlation. At the same time, Google, WhatsApp and Zoom are enabling the elderly — for long considered technophobic — to learn, connect and socialize. Present-day literature, such as Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together and others similar, lean to the side proclaiming that tech negatively impacts emotional lives, but still make allowances for the other.

What everyone agrees is that loneliness is a serious problem, which, as it manifests more and more, will damage the mental, physical and economic health of society. Some years ago, it was estimated that loneliness cost employers in the UK £2.5 billion every year in four ways: sickness absence, lower productivity, higher turnover among employees suffering from conditions linked to loneliness, and the cost of employees caring for other people suffering from the same.

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While the jury is still out on the relationship between technology and isolation, a rash of digital antidotes to loneliness have sprung up. On the Rent A Friend website, you can, for a mutually agreed fee, hire a (human) 'friend' to walk with you in New York or watch a movie. Algorithm-powered friendship apps are a dime-a-dozen. Japan has a rich history of companion robots, from Erica the humanoid who can, like an old friend, reminisce about the past, to Lovot, who likes to be loved

To address the isolation of those living alone, in 2018, South Korean scientists prototyped Fribo, a robot that encouraged the lonesome to socialize, virtually, with other friends, who also had a Fribo in their homes. But what about those who are lonely even when they are not alone? Resolving that may be more complicated since the problem is rooted in causes other than physical isolation.

Why, for example, do young people feel more socially isolated the more time they spend on social media? In the opinion of one expert, the countless hours spent on social and other online channels provide connections at the expense of real, more meaningful relationships. Craig Hodges, the American basketball player, puts in nicely: “A fixation with connecting with 'friends' online comes with the risk of disconnection with friends waiting for you to be present in the offline world.” Think nimble-fingered teenagers who are perfectly comfortable socializing virtually with people they barely know but are tongue-tied with those sitting in the room.  

Habituated to being connected at all times, many people simply cannot deal with solitude, or even a momentary pause in connectivity, anymore. Worst of all, social networking metrics — friends, likes, forwards, retweets — are being conflated with popularity and success, polarizing the world into winners and losers, and helping send the latter into hiding. The constant need for endorsement, even from strangers, is causing people to adopt a different persona online — which is way more attractive than the real one. Writer Donna Lynn Hope asks if people would act a certain way if they couldn’t show off on social media.

This digital duality — assuming an alternative virtual persona — is sparking a keen debate in anthropological circles about the 'real you.' For the millennial and younger generations, there is no concept of online; hence, there should be no distinction between the virtual and real self. If so, will that reasoning also apply to real and virtual individuals, blurring the lines between humans and humanoids to turn science fiction into truth? When robot-companions (possibly made to order) become commonplace, will human beings feel less lonely or lonelier than ever?

Even as in the last 18 months of Covid-19, where the boundaries between our workplace and our personal space have blurred, it is obvious that loneliness not only impacts employees’ productivity and performance but also their physical, mental and emotional well-being. A partial list of problems includes depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and alcoholism, which, left unaddressed, can cause long-lasting damage to the individuals as well as their organizations by way of attrition, low engagement and negative office culture. In Covid-19-times, the world has seen digitalization increase and, if anything, technology has become even further embedded into all aspects of our daily lives. Leadership in our organizations and indeed the community needs to recognize that there is a problem, one that cannot be neglected. There is also no silver bullet to dealing with these issues. 

Right now, there are more questions than answers. However, scientific evidence is unambiguous that replacing real-world relationships with social networking disrupts physical and mental well-being. But when the same social media connections are used to build offline friendships, it can have the opposite effect. The bottom line is that technology, like any other tool, can cut both ways. How we use it is up to us. 

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How tech and social media are making us feel lonelier than ever

The loneliness paradox: All that time online can connect us in amazing ways, but it can also make us feel isolated.

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You've had a social day. Two hundred Facebook friends posted birthday messages, your video of Mr. Meow shredding the toilet paper stash got dozens of retweets, and all the compliments on your latest Instagram selfie have you strutting with an extra swagger. Still, you can't help but notice an ache that can only be described as loneliness .

That we feel this way even when hyperconnected might seem like a contradiction. But the facts are clear: Constant virtual connections can often amplify the feeling of loneliness. 

"Internet-related technologies are great at giving us the perception of connectedness," says  Dr. Elias Aboujaoude , a Stanford University psychiatrist who's written about the intersection of psychology and tech. The truth, he says, is the time and energy spent on social media's countless connections may be happening at the expense of more rooted, genuinely supportive and truly close relationships.

Loneliness, that most universal human condition, existed long before we could compare follower counts, of course. "Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man," wrote the novelist Thomas Wolfe. But it's impacting an increasing number of people, according to studies, with some even warning of a loneliness epidemic . At least one scientist is working on a pill to ease its pain. 

Technology can't shoulder all the blame for our loneliness. Temperament, mental health and isolating events like cross-country moves, job changes, divorces and deaths of loved ones also play a huge role. Plus, there's the question of causation versus correlation: It's hard to tell whether we're more lonely because of all the time we spend online or we're spending so much time online because we're more lonely. 

But experts say our interactions with technology shape the experience of being lonely in an undeniable way. It's not just that tech creates an illusion of connection. Endless possibilities for interactions lower our tolerance for solitude while raising expectations about the number, speed and frequency of our connections.

"Our culture has put upon us these expectations that if we're going to be successful we need to have a huge network of contacts," says Susan Matt , a history professor at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, who specializes in the history of emotions. "That extra set of expectations makes the experience of aloneness even harder. Our grandparents, our great-grandparents, didn't think they were going to have an average of 338 Facebook friends."  

Matt, along with Luke Fernandez , a computing professor at Weber State University, explore the connection between tech and emotion in their 2019 book Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Changing Feelings about Technology, from the Telegraph to Twitter . Scouring letters, diaries and memoirs, they found that even though our Facebook-free ancestors felt lonely too, they had more modest expectations about the number of friendships they should have. They also considered loneliness an inescapable part of being human. 

Our forebears also weren't confronted with endless Instagram-perfect vacation photos and posts about kids who seem incapable of anything but cuteness. Numerous studies have found social media can lead to feelings of depression , inadequacy and isolation as people compare their lives with everyone else's carefully curated versions.  

Many of the subjects Matt and Fernandez interviewed for their book talked about this sort of FOMO, or fear of missing out. "It made people's anxieties more apparent," Matt says, giving them a "sense that was something going on and they weren't a part of, that sense of being neglected or abandoned."  

Loneliness, a big business

Technology, as COVID-19 has made more clear than ever, can link people in amazing and unparalleled ways. It crosses geographical borders, broadens communities and opens the world to those with otherwise limited access. But these benefits can come at a cost. "[Technology] can distract us with endless activities that occupy our mental bandwidth and prevent us from recognizing the dearth of relationships that may mark our social lives," Aboujaoude says. 

It can also prevent us from enjoying potential rewards of loneliness, and its close cousin, boredom . Both can, at least in limited doses, lead to self-awareness, creativity and a deeper appreciation for meaningful relationships. 

But loneliness can be devastating, even terrifying. A dark veil. A weight on the heart.

"Loneliness and a dangerous world like the one we're in add up to a challenging combination," says Aboujaoude, whose books include Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality . "They produce a sense of vulnerability and can make people feel they lack a safety net or lifeline. If not recognized and addressed, they can also contribute to depression and other negative mood states." 

Connecting with others is just a click away, but sometimes those quick, easy connections come at a price. 

Loneliness has other medical implications. Studies have linked loneliness to heart disease , diabetes , dementia and weakened immune systems , and it's been called a strong predictor of premature death. 

A 2018 survey from health services company Cigna found that nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone or left out, though social media use on its own is not a predictor of loneliness levels. The researchers evaluated 20,000 subjects 18 or older using the well-established  UCLA Loneliness Scale , a 20-item questionnaire developed to assess subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. 

"The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness," journalist and author Norman Cousins wrote. We are inherently social creatures, with anthropologists saying our social interactions have played a major role in our evolution as a species. 

Given how excruciating loneliness can feel, it comes as no surprise that hardware and software that promise instant connection hold such broad allure. 

"They're intent on selling us cures for loneliness," Fernandez says of companies marketing eternal connectivity. "That's what social media is partly about, a way of commodifying and pathologizing loneliness and offering us a cure. If there is an epidemic of loneliness, it goes hand in hand with the imperatives of capitalism."  

He calls it the "loneliness industry." 

Dan Schawbel wrote Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation and advises workplaces on current trends as managing partner of the firm Market Intelligence . 

He agrees that tech has a huge stake in making devices, apps and services that feel impossible to put down. But we aren't defenseless in the face of digital wiles, he stresses.  

"It's our fault and technology's fault," he says. "Big technology companies are designing their devices to be addictive because that's their business model ... but we are also guilty because you can put technology down, you can unplug. It is a choice." 

Tech and personality, a history  

A French family gathers around a groundbreaking device, the radio, in 1925. Back then, "this idea that you could have companions in your home piped in from elsewhere was something to marvel at," historian Susan Matt says. It also cultivated an intolerance of solitude, she says. 

Technology shaped emotions and habits long before Instagram likes and Twitter retweets. 

When mirrors became affordable in the late 19th century, for example, they "made people think about how they looked to others much more than they had before," historian Matt notes. Photography, similarly, expanded portraits beyond the realm of the wealthy, democratizing people's ability to present themselves in images, and simultaneously ratcheting up their levels of self-scrutiny.   

Then the 1920s and 1930s brought a technology that could suddenly fill the silence with the turn of a knob: the radio. It was harder to feel alone with the family gathered in the living room sharing in Orson Welles' familiar "mighty Wurlitzer of a voice," as one critic called it. 

We're used to inviting YouTubers into our homes, but back then, "this idea that you could have companions in your home piped in from elsewhere was something to marvel at," Matt says. It also bred an intolerance of aloneness, she says, like the one many attribute to smartphones and the internet. 

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Look no further than the constant parade of Zoom activities that fill our lives during lockdown to see that aloneness is a state many would much prefer to avoid. 

"But nothing makes a room feel emptier than wanting someone in it," poet Calla Quinn wrote. 

The Cigna study found that people who engage in frequent meaningful in-person interactions have lower loneliness scores and report better health than those who rarely interact with others face to face. Researchers who study loneliness say technology can help establish and enhance meaningful connections. But it can't replace them. 

Schawbel cites research from Oxford University that found out of 150 Facebook friends, you can truly count on only four, on average, when you need a real friend. The kind who picks you up from the hospital after a procedure, helps you pack on moving day and listens to you dissect your breakup for the 16th time because you need to process it just once more, promise .  

"If we know through all these studies that the root of happiness is relationships," he asks, "why are we letting technology deceive us into thinking we have more than we have?"  

Enter Zoom fatigue , the much-discussed condition du jour, which could end up being a harbinger of a renewed reach for connections beyond Facebook birthday messages. 

"What we've learned from coronavirus is the more we use technology, the more we actually want to be in person connecting to other people," he says. "It's pushing us to be more human."  

Technology Use, Loneliness, and Isolation

Are older adults overusing the internet how much is too much.

Posted October 19, 2022 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster

• Understanding Loneliness
• Find a therapist near me
• The Internet has served as a lifeline connecting people with family and friends and combating loneliness and isolation.
• When technology takes the place of in-person relationships, it has been found to increase loneliness and disconnection.
• A compulsion to use technology might ultimately harm users and contribute to real-life social isolation.

A family member recently contracted COVID-19 in France. He responded to concerned messages: “At least I have good WIFI while recuperating.”

The need for connectivity was never greater than during the darkest months of the pandemic. We texted, chatted, and Zoomed with our family and friends. We held virtual “happy hours” and had our medical appointments online, a new experience for most of us. Technology provided a lifeline.

As in-person gatherings became dangerous, those who were able gratefully turned to technology to stay connected to family and friends (Geirdal et al., 2021). Social media saved us from complete isolation.

Since those difficult days, many have been hesitant to re-emerge and re-engage in the "real” world. We are still anxious about being around too many people. We are still hesitant and fearful for our health, which means that at times we cling to our online life or hibernate in our homes .

With the re-emergence of public life, we ask ourselves how much internet use is too much? Social science research has found that for a long time, people have felt lonelier and more isolated. Pandemic measures designed to manage a health crisis have, in many ways, boosted a mental health crisis: the loneliness epidemic. Survey research indicates that 36 percent of Americans often feel lonely. For older adults, the percentages tend to be even higher.

For some people, social media has become a compulsive panacea when longing for connection. Even before the pandemic, problematic internet use was a concern for some. Excessive internet use is only one of many forms of technology compulsion, along with excessive gaming, smartphone, or social media use.

Technology compulsion, like other forms of behavior compulsion, may lead to obsessive thinking and behavior and feelings of anxiety when not connected. Technology compulsion might lead to rumination about online relationships and activities, and an over-dependence and over-engagement with online platforms.

When technology takes the place of in-person relationships, it has been found to increase loneliness and disconnection and reduce well-being. It is helpful for online connectivity to supplement in-person relationships, but if relationships are maintained primarily online, they ultimately do not satisfy.

Even as various technologies can help connect and sustain social interactions during challenging times like the COVID-19 epidemic (Gioia et al., 2021), a compulsion might ultimately harm users and contribute to real-life social isolation .

High social media use is linked to reduced positive mental health outcomes –especially feelings of well-being. On the other hand, if one uses the Internet but maintains a sense of control over their use, it can be a useful and helpful tool. Hunt et al. (2018) found that cultivating moderation by controlling and monitoring social media use is associated with positive mental health outcomes and reduced anxiety and depression .

Maintaining control and self-monitoring technology consumption may be a fruitful strategy to combat loneliness and help people cope with stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. Heavy internet users may interpret their compulsion as a minimal problem, while a disconnection can lead to anxiety and feelings of loss.

Age and Technology Compulsion

Older adults have historically been among the least active internet users. Not being “digital natives.” The digital divide has existed for years. Many older adults have felt hesitant and uncomfortable about the computerization of life (McDonough, 2016).

In recent years, particularly during the pandemic, older adults have increased their use of social media. The fact that the Internet is indispensable is undisputed, but how much social media use is healthy (Meshi et al., 2020)?

In an ongoing project that explores the benefits of time spent in natural environments, 12 older adults of diverse backgrounds who walked three to five times a week for at least 30 minutes were asked to list the top five benefits of walking outside.

Eleven of the 12 stated that disconnecting “for a time” from their technology was one of the top benefits. If these responses indicate a need to disconnect for a time, how can we help those who unconsciously reach for their phones for connection and validation?

Despite the fact that overuse of technology may not be adaptive, access to technology is crucial for a sense of cultural competence in today’s world. Continuing to boost ease of access and use for people of all ages is important.

Acknowledging age-related cognitive and physical decline in the development of new technologies is also helpful in increasing the usability of digital tools. Current software and hardware developers rarely consider age-related difficulties in their designs.

In addition, ageism, in which older adults are perceived as less capable of understanding or using emerging technologies, may result in older adults internalizing such cultural messages and engaging with the real and virtual world accordingly (Tahmaseb et al., 2022).

Clearly, there are positive and negative outcomes linked to technology use. The question of how much is too much should be explored individually and socially. The moderate use of technological devices is beneficial. It can lead to a sense of self-efficacy and competence, whereas overuse can adversely affect well-being.

We live in a technology-infused world. All age groups use the Internet for many activities. While technology may greatly help lonely people who seek additional connections with close friends, family, or colleagues, it can become a detrimental coping strategy when overused. Total absorption in anything is generally not an adaptive coping strategy.

Geirdal, A. Ø., Ruffolo, M., Leung, J., Thygesen, H., Price, D., Bonsaksen, T., & Schoultz, M. (2021). Mental health, quality of life, well-being, loneliness and use of social media in a time of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-country comparative study. Journal of mental health, 30(2), 148–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2021.1875413

Gioia, F., Rega, V., & Boursier, V. (2021). Problematic internet use and emotional dysregulation among young people: A literature review. Clinical neuropsychiatry, 18(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20210104

Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

McDonough, C. C. (2016). The effect of ageism on the digital divide among older adults. Journal of Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 2(008), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.24966/GGM-8662%2F100008

Meshi, D., Cotten, S. R., & Bender, A. R. (2020). Problematic social media use and perceived social isolation in older Adults: A cross-sectional study. Gerontology, 66(2), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1159/000502577

Tahmaseb McConatha, J.; Kumar, V.K., & Magnarelli, J. (2022) Ageism, job engagement, negative stereotypes, intergenerational climate, and life satisfaction among middle-aged and older employees in a university setting. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health, 19, (13) 7443.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9266066/

Jasmin Tahmaseb-McConatha, Ph.D. , is a professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. She researches aging and well-being.

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The learning network | does technology make us more alone.

Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

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Updated, Oct. 17, 2016 | We republished this same question on the redesigned Learning Network. Join the student conversation there.

Technology is supposed to make us more connected. We can stay in touch with our friends all the time on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and, of course, by texting. But are our smartphones actually getting in the way of real socializing? Could technology be making us more alone?

In the article “ Disruptions: More Connected, Yet More Alone ,” Nick Bilton writes about a YouTube video that comments on our smartphone-obsessed culture.

Last weekend, I was watching television with a few friends, browsing the week’s most popular YouTube videos, when a piece in the comedy section called “I Forgot My Phone” caught my eye. As I was about to click play, however, a friend warned: “Oh, don’t watch that. I saw it yesterday, and it’s really sad.” The two-minute video, which has been viewed more than 15 million times, begins with a couple in bed. The woman, played by the comedian and actress Charlene deGuzman, stares silently while her boyfriend pays no mind and checks his smartphone. The subsequent scenes follow Ms. deGuzman through a day that is downright dystopian: people ignore her as they stare at their phones during lunch, at a concert, while bowling and at a birthday party. (Even the birthday boy is recording the party on his phone.) The clip ends with Ms. deGuzman back in bed with her boyfriend at the end of the day; he is still using his phone. Ms. deGuzman’s video makes for some discomfiting viewing. It’s a direct hit on our smartphone-obsessed culture, needling us about our addiction to that little screen and suggesting that maybe life is just better led when it is lived rather than viewed. While the clip has funny scenes — a man proposing on a beach while trying to record the special moment on his phone — it is mostly … sad.

Students: Tell us …

• Does technology make us more alone? Do you find yourself surrounded by people who are staring at their screens instead of having face-to-face conversations? Are you ever guilty of doing that, too?
• Is our obsession with documenting everything through photographs and videos preventing us from living in the moment?
• Do you ever try to put your phone down to be more present with the people in the room?
• Do you have rules for yourself or for your friends or family about when and how you use technology in social situations? If not, do you think you should?
• Do you think smartphones will continue to intrude more into our private and social spaces, or do you think society is beginning to push back?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name . For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

I think that it is important to use SmartPhones at times, but people still need to talk face to face to others as well.

I think that smart phones and other technology serve a purpose. We use technology and the internet to keep in touch with our friends, world news, and other pop culture events. On the bad side, people become so attached to their phones that they’re not fully living life. They’re more concerned with the world wide wibe instead seeing the world that’s right in front of them.

i actually think that all the technology that we have now are some of the best things ever made! it makes any and everything you want to do easier and more proficient. nowadays everybody holds a cell phone that has the same potential as most computers. who would rather send a letter than a text anyways. some people just want to argue with things that dont need to be argued about.

I dont believe that technology makes us alone. however I do think it makes us talk less. We dont require a face to face conversation anymore. Usually when people are trying to have a face to face conversation, it is mannerable to put the phone down, such as at a dinner table or other family function. Especially a buisness setting. I think that the older society are trying to push back because its taking the kids attention alot more then it probably should.

My family has rules about technology. I get one hour of technology a day.

I, honestly, do believe that technology has hindered our social skills, but I think that technology is necessary. However, just because the technology itself is useful, doesn’t mean that all the applications that come with it are needed.

I think that technology is really a big deal nowadays and have replace face to face converstion. Yes i think that it also make you feel alone because you cant replace a social network with a friend or a touch with a tweet and physcial hug with a picture.

After reading the selction above, I do believe that technology does make us more more alone. I say this because we focus more on what’s going on with our devices than focusing on having real life relationships with other people. Most of us look at technology as a person and we grow to have a serious attachment to. Most people would rather spend hours browsing the web on the computer or their smart phones than to go out and make friends in the world. Technology has become so much of a crutch for us that we depend on it for more than just helping us answer a question or make life eaiser, we depend on it for everything. For example, the iPhone has Siri a computerized person that you can talk to. With that said, yes, I do believe that technology makes us more alone.

Yes, I do think technology does make us more alone. Technology gives us our own space and creates a private world for us. I’m surrounded with people who would rather sit and stare at their screens than talk face to face. I am one of those people. Technology has more things that excite the younger crowd of people such as, texting, talking, and social networking.

I don’t believe that phones or any other technology stops people from socializing with thoes around them…..at least not for me. Honestly when I am with my friends, I still have my phone in my presence but I barely look at it unless I have a notification of some sort or simply want to show my friend something on my phone. Sometimes I do think phones are a bit distracting because sometimes my friends and even family will use their phone in the middle of a converasation. However, that doesn’t mean that it stops them from talking to the person they are conversing with. Infact phones help people socialize better in my opinion. Only because you have diffrent ways of connecting with them. Most of the time I use my phone TO meet up with my friends….but that’s just me. However, I have had multiple conversations with friends and family while I was using mine phone…or they were using theres. Its not that big of an issue to me.

In our opinion, we think that phones can stop you in a way from interacting with your friends. The reason we feel that way is because you can bearly have a conversation without someone checking their phone and being rude. Also, people will not here your full conversation if their constantly looking at their phone. They could miss something very important.

I believe that the Internet is a means of expression and interaction with people from foreign lands. Having the ability to gain other people’s perspectives, but this does have a flip side. The Internet allows people to stay inside to do many activities such as co-op gaming, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos. To a extent, the Internet does cut people off from the outside world.

in my opinion technology does not make people any more lonely then people without it. i give three reasons why i bieleve it dosent make u anymore loney, reason one being u can be annomus onlie. my second reason there are many social networking sites meant for the lonley. my final reason beeing that the internet has things like xbox live face time skype there ar numerous of things that affilate you with other people from around the world.

No I do not think that technology makes us more lonely. It can help us deal with problems that we have with ourselves. Technology is an amazing way to contact other people not near us. We can meet other people around the world that share the same thoughts and ideals.

I think that technology makes us connected a lot more but it does affect our day to day conversations because people arent exposed to holding a conversation with people whos not in our age groups.

Although Smartphones is an excellent source for numerous activities, they should not become the only thing important in your life. Smartphones should not stop you from talking to others face to face.

I honestly do believe that technology does make us lonely. In our modern day of age, people rather check smartphones and distracting, senseless apps than mingle and socialize with others face to face. However, I really can’t blame them. As a teen, I totally understand the need and want of technology and how it fills my appetite of boredom and other needs, but I still try to get some interaction with another human being now and then. But, maybe this sensation of mainly using electronic devices is the ongoing of evolution. Maybe a few years from now, the whole word will be full of anti-socialists that stay at home and play on the computer all day and rather communicate through text or Facebook than actaully talk and respond to a human being and we just have to deal with it. It is indeed quite sad.

I think technology doesn’t make us feel alone. It gives us a chance to communicate with people we lost contact with. People still need to talk face to face to each other.

I think technology makes us more alone in a way, but then I don’t think so. One reason why I think technology makes us more alone because if you’re in a relationship, or you’re talking to someone close to you, and you’re on your phone or some other social media, that would make them feel like they’re being ignored. Also, I think technology doesn’t make us alone. By using technology you can interact with your friends and family and also people you haven’t seen in a long time.

I don’t think technology is making us feel more alone, It’s a choice to use your phone. Being on your phone when you’re not in the presence of anyone is fine, but if you’re a guest at someones house, or a friend or family member is talking to you, you should but your phone away to be more present with that persons conversation. I think smartphones will continue to intrude in our private and social spaces. I think peope use there phone so much because phones can’t hurt people. They don’t bully you, they can’t regect you and that comforts peeople. All in all depends if we let them. It wouldn’t hurt if we put them down once in a while.

I must agree with the fact that technology is taking over our world. As technology advances we dont socialize as much as we used to. Its way easier to send text messages and facetime with people all around the world. But the most important thing we are missing is physical contact with one another.

Now being that i am a smartphone user, i know how easy it is to become addicted. Its easy to become attatched to my phone and just sit for hours browsing the web or playing little games on my phone. Though i can do this, i love having company so putting my phone down isnt that hard for me. On the other hand, my bestfriend does not have a phone. So she often borrows others phones, and it is very easy for her to get caught up. When i allow her to use my phone, she can be on it for hours and hours not paying me any attention. And it hurts our relationship. i often sometimes wish i didnt have a phone because when i didnt have one we talked way more, and had loads of fun with eachother. though we still do this now. it is not the same cause we can both get caught up in instagram and text messaging.

I do believe that technology will only advance and people will only become lazier. and relationships will only fall apart. So it is up to each person to maintain their own healthy social life.

Technology rules are world in both good and bad ways. Most people who have a smart phone may find themelves constantly on their phones. When I read the aritical about the youtube video one of the thoughts that i had was, ” did the woman make an effort to talk to the all of the people that were on their phones?” But as i continued to read i came to a more understanding of the video. When i see alot of people on there phones and i may not have my phone, i sometimes feel left out or out of the loop. I do think that in some situations in life technology cane make us feel alone.

Capturing moments through your phone helps you live in the moment because you can keep these memories for years to come by having pictures and video. I do have to be cautious when I’m on my phone while I’m talking to someone because it can be distracting. Technology is important in our time, but we have to be careful on how we use it because it can harm relationships with family or friends.

Yes, I do believe that technology make us more alone. Many people will choose to stay alone and stay to themselves instead of being socially active with others. Even though people may be alone using technology, they are still more than likely on social networks. Some people become shy when it comes to public speaking because of the separation through technology.

In my opinion technology does not actually make us more lonely it just makes us less sociable. Everyone is obsessed with technology so much so that it has become part of our social lives but what we fail to realize is we are no longer socializing with each other. Our technology has become part of us so much that to us we don’t feel lonely most of the time as a result of technology because to us the behaivor is normal. Although I do believe technology as taken away the importance of the spoken word, these days it doesn’t bother people because it has become a unhealthy reality. We live in the world of technology and it is our social life but it has ruined actual personal relationships because there are none. Our only relationships are with our technology which makes us loose depth as people.

What's Next

The neuroscience of loneliness – and how technology is helping us

Professor of Social Robotics, Macquarie University

PhD Candidate in Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow

Disclosure statement

Emily S. Cross receives funding from the European Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust

Anna Henschel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Glasgow provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Large numbers of people around the globe have been forced into solitude due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, social distancing is utterly at odds with our drive for social connection, the cornerstone of human evolution.

Suddenly confronted with a lack of social interactions, many of us are now experiencing more loneliness. We are missing that reassuring hug or shoulder pat from another human – things we might normally expect in times of adversity. To cope, we try to fill the void with online social activities, such as synchronised Netflix viewings, games and video chat dance parties. But do these help?

The lonely brain

When we spend quality time with another person, we experience intrinsic joy. Brain scanning studies show that subcortical brain regions, such as the ventral striatum , which plays an important role in motivation, are activated when receiving monetary and social rewards .

When we feel lonely and rejected, brain regions associated with distress and rumination are activated instead . This may be due to evolution driving us to establish and maintain social connections to ensure survival. Lonely people also have a more negative focus and anxiously scrutinise people’s intentions . Sometimes this can become so strong that it makes us feel even more lonely – creating a vicious cycle.

Not everyone relishes social connection to the same extent though. People with a more extrovert personality type seek more social activities, have access to larger social networks, and report lower perceived loneliness . People who score highly on neuroticism tend to report more perceived social isolation.

Loneliness has for some time been recognised as a significant threat to physical and mental health and has been found to be predictive of mortality .

So how can you best cope with loneliness and isolation? Analysis has suggested that the most successful interventions find ways to address the distorted thinking that loneliness creates. So if you are feeling lonely, try identifying automatic negative thoughts – such as assuming people don’t want to hear from you – and reframing them as hypotheses rather than facts.

Another recent review of literature found that targeting coping strategies can also be beneficial. It discovered that approaches such as joining a support group to remove feelings of loneliness work particularly well. Emotion-based coping strategies, such as lowering expectations about relationships, were not as effective.

Technological solutions

Social media is often vilified in public discourse. But many people who are self-isolating now rely on online social tools. An important aspect missing in instant messaging and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, however, is the nonverbal cue – such as a smile, gesture or glance. These allow us to gauge the tone and context of a social encounter. When this information is missing, we perceive fewer friendly cues from others .

So while online tools can be helpful during periods of isolation, embodiment and social presence are nevertheless missing. But there are ways to boost the rewards of online communication. One study used augmented reality to enable two people to interact with each other’s video chat images and found that they reported higher sense of social presence and a more engaging experience. Similarly, participating in shared activities benefits the formation of close relationships with others . So whether it is a virtual pub quiz or a dance party, this may be particularly valuable during lockdown.

Robots designed to engage us on a social level could also help isolated people feel less lonely, as they carry the benefit of embodiment. In a randomised control trial with Paro, a cuddly baby seal robot, residents in a care home who interacted with it reported reduced feelings of loneliness .

Research from our own laboratory seeks to identify how robotic features or behaviours influence our ability to feel socially connected to these machines. For example, a new study highlights that people conversationally engage with a humanoid robot to a similar extent as another person, and more so than with a voice assistant like Alexa or Siri.

New advances in mobile brain imaging technologies, along with the increasing social sophistication of some robots, provide opportunities for examining how people establish and maintain social connections with robots in real time.

While the rise of social robots appears futuristic, they are already moving out of factories and into our homes, supermarkets and hospitals. They even have new social roles in the coronavirus crisis – for example as supermarket assistants , reminding shoppers of new health and safety rules.

Until we all have a sophisticated social robot to keep us company, perhaps the best remedy is to keep in touch with our loved ones online, especially through shared activities. And let’s focus on the fact that close human contact will soon be safe again.

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Does Technology Cut Us Off from Other People?

I keep technology at a little distance, which makes me unusual among millennials. Four out of five of my peers—those born after 1980—own mobile devices, which are always on, always on us, and always connected to social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

But while all my friends seem wired into their smartphones 24-7, I’ve turned off notifications on my iPhone and I participate in the occasional technology Shabbat .

It’s hard to shake the feeling that, although smartphones open the door to new kinds of social connection, they burn through precious social capital —the web of social networks that research says can help us to be happier , healthier , and better employed .

I’m not alone. In fact, Greater Good contributor Barbara Fredrickson published a study last year that suggests smartphone use may be taking a toll “on our biological capacity to connect with other people.”

But do digital devices and social media really disconnect us from the flesh-and-blood people in our lives? Or can mobile devices actually add to our social capital? Researchers are starting to explore these questions—and the answers suggest that our social media presence need not detract from our real-world social connections. In fact, technology can actually increase our social capital, if we know how to use it.

When it’s smart to use smartphones

First up, do smartphones actually reduce our social capital?

To find out, a team of researchers at the University of Florida surveyed 339 students about the intensity of their smartphone use and online social networking. They found that, on average, participants reported spending about 100-200 minutes per day using the Internet and about 30-90 minutes using social networks. Then the students answered questions about four dimensions of social capital:

• Trust , measured with questions like, “Generally speaking, there is someone I can turn to for advice about making very important decisions.”
• Organizational participation , measured simply by their number of group memberships.
• Political participation , measured by how often they watched political debates or participated in demonstrations.
• Network resources , measured by the people of people they know who could provide different resources, such as a holiday homes abroad or access to professional journals.

The results? Across the board, heavy smartphone use was positively associated with all four measures of social capital. So it seems that all those people who are glued to their phones are not necessarily more socially isolated.

But this relationship only exists to the extent that the smartphones were being used for their social networking capabilities, as opposed to random Internet surfing. In other words, only those who used their smartphones for social media like Google+ or Twitter knew more people, were more involved with organizations, participated more actively in politics, and perceived more trust among their peers.

This study was of young people. Do people on the other end of the age spectrum also benefit from online social networking?

Social media help older people stay connected

Studies have shown that older adults—those 65 years and up—who use social networking sites benefit from better health, reduce their chances of cognitive decline, and prevent premature death. But only four percent of Facebook users in the United States are over 65, which suggests that older adults may be missing valuable opportunities to strengthen their social ties through social media.

A team of Mexican researchers designed their own type of social media platform, called Tlatoque, which borrows many of its features from popular networking sites (e.g., it has a news feed, status updates, and photo sharing capabilities). After a few weeks, the researchers looked at how interactions through Tlatoque influenced social capital and interactions in the real world.

They found that the system significantly enriched these adults’ relationships with close friends and family. The authors suggest that’s because the system helped them become more aware of what their relatives were up to, enabling the sharing of information with friends and family who prefer social media to the “more traditional” ways of staying in touch. This catalyzed and enriched real-world conversations, according to the results.

While Tlatoque might not be coming to an app store near you anytime soon, this study is the first to suggest that we can use our online social capital to enrich our in-person encounters. It’s a good first step toward understanding the relationship between online and offline social capital—and how both of these networks might influence one another.

It takes a village on Twitter

The results of these two studies seem conclusive: Together, smartphones and social media can increase your social capital.

But are all forms of social capital created equal? Another study, recently published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction , looked at how the micro-blogging platform Twitter builds different types of social capital.

On Twitter, all messages posted are publicly available in the global feed of “tweets.” But to filter this feed, users can choose to follow other users. That’s a great way to learn about a new job, read about different experiences and opinions, or feel like part of a group that’s bigger than yourself.

These types of bonds, which are largely informational, are described by researchers as bridging social capital , which the authors loosely define as, “the formation of rather weak ties between people from different networks.” Bonding social capital , on the other hand, has a more emotional tone. Bonding happens in homogenous groups of like-minded individuals, like friends or family. So if bonding capital is about connecting more deeply, then bridging capital is about connecting more widely.

If you were to guess, which one would you say Twitter helps to build?

The researchers had a hypothesis that it was both. So they asked 264 Twitter users to report their number of followers and followees, estimate the number of minutes they spend on Twitter on an average day, and answer a few questions that would approximate a measure of both bridging and bonding social capital. A typical question for bridging social capital asks if “interacting with people on Twitter makes me feel like part of a greater community”; a question for bonding social capital asks if, on Twitter, “there are several people I trust to help solve my problems.”

Twitter did indeed seem associated with both bonding and bridging social capital—but only if the number people you interact with on Twitter fell within a goldilocks zone of not too few and not too many.

More on Social Connections

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Learn how weak ties and strong ties work together to build our social capital.

Learn about the link between happiness and social connection .

Explore how social connections increase kindness .

Explore the health benefits of social connection here and here .

For example, people who spent the most spent more time on Twitter and followed more users reported more bridging capital. This is because the more you follow, the more opportunity you have to gain exposure to new ideas—or, as the authors say, to “expand your horizons” beyond your “narrow daily existence.” So is it best to follow as many people as possible? The answer is no, according to this study—when we follow too many people, we risk information overload. As the authors caution us, “There can be too much of a good thing.” More is better, but only up to a point.

When it comes to bonding social capital, a similar principle applies. They found that a user with an engaged and dedicated audience of followers is likely to feel a great sense of emotional support. But if that user’s follower network becomes too large, it becomes an abstract faceless mass, “which increases the user’s psychological distance from [their] followers.”

So to build the most bridging and bonding capital on Twitter, you want a village of followers, not a teeming metropolis.

What might this have to do with our offline social capital? While it wasn’t the main focus of this study, researchers found that those who feel more connected in their everyday lives also seemed to feel more connected to their online peers, not unlike the elderly participants of Tlatoque. So in some way, there is a relationship between your offline self and your online profile. The Tlatoque study even suggests that online connections can support the offline ones.

Taken together, these three studies hint at a compelling story—that social networking services can be a significant way of developing, maintaining, and strengthening our social connections, both online and in person. Using social networking services builds social capital in a number of ways: greater emotional support, lower levels of loneliness, and more feelings of connectedness. But these studies also contain a note of caution: Too many followers and too much participation can lead to information overload, depression, and feelings of disconnectedness.

The bottom line? I’m going to keep my iPhone and my Facebook account—but I think I’ll also keep setting limits.

About the Author

Lauren klein.

Lauren Klein is a Greater Good editorial assistant.

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Technology Makes Us More Alone

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