Research confirms our deepest intuition: Human connection lies at the heart of human well-being.
What is Causing Our Epidemic of Loneliness and How Can We Fix It?
Researchers share what Americans have to say about social disconnection and potential solutions
How we can solve loneliness in America
An expert in loneliness says the U.S. is in a new "social frontier." Here's how we can cope
Undersociality: miscalibrated social cognition can inhibit social connection
A person’s well-being depends heavily on forming and maintaining positive relationships, but people can be reluctant to connect in ways that would create or strengthen relationships. Emerging research suggests that miscalibrated social cognition may create psychological barriers to connecting with others more often. Specifically, people may underestimate how positively others will respond to their own sociality across a variety of social actions, including engaging in conversation, expressing appreciation, and performing acts of kindness.
Researchers Confront an Epidemic of Loneliness (Published 2016)
Social isolation is linked to physical illness and to functional and cognitive decline. Programs to reach out to the elderly are growing, particularly in Britain.
Remote workers report the highest well-being in study of 7,700 employees
Many employers worry remote workers feel disconnected. A new study found they reported higher well-being and were no more likely to feel isolated than their
We've Lost the Spaces That Foster Friendship
We keep offering individual fixes for loneliness while ignoring the disappearance of the spaces where adults once built real relationships.
Loneliness epidemic
The concept of a "loneliness epidemic" relating to rising rates of social isolation was first described in the 2000s. Robert D. Putnam's 2000 study Bowling Alone was an early instance of describing loneliness as an epidemic, arguing that decreased participation in civic life and community groups was weakening social bonds in the United States.[5]
Your Loneliness Was a Design Decision Made by Your Enemy
or: they want us isolated because it's easier to sell us shit
Taking Love Seriously: What Ancient Wisdom & Modern Psychology Say About Interconnectedness - The Great Simplification
In this episode, Nate welcomes Dr. John Churchill, a psychologist and former Buddhist monk, to explore a map of human development that runs from "first-person" perspective of the isolated self all the way to a felt, embodied sense of interdependence with the planet itself.
The empathy paradox
There’s an image of empathy we all know that is beautiful: the fullness of completely understanding someone else, the symbolic walk in shoes that are not one’s own. The knowledge that someone else can share a pain so acute that would otherwise seem unbearably solitary. It’s an image inherent to empathy’s definition, an image many believe in wholeheartedly. Several studies conducted by Stanford researchers alone suggest people are motivated to feel empathy, that empathy is highly associated with social desirability, that it is as beneficial as it is admired.
America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it
Lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General.
Why Your Social Capital is Probably Worthless
In 1973, sociologist Mark Granovetter published one of the most influential papers in social network theory. "The Strength of Weak Ties" demonstrated something counterintuitive: when it comes to finding jobs and opportunities, your casual acquaintances are often more valuable than your close friends. This makes perfect sense when you think
How being alone may be the key to rest
The results of the world’s largest survey on rest suggest that to feel truly rested, we need to get away from other people.
How deep do AI relationships really go? An expert in attachment theory explains
Can AI-human connections ever meet the psychological criteria of attachment – the relationships that hold people’s lives together?
How deep do AI relationships really go? An expert in attachment theory explains
Can AI-human connections ever meet the psychological criteria of attachment – the relationships that hold people’s lives together?
When we lose shared experiences, we lose humanity Isolationism is the number one issue Isolationism leads to ignorance, ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hate
Sam Clemente
People are biking by and slowing down as they pass, others walking by stop for a moment to listen, the kids are running around while a big family sits down to dinner The people in cars are oblivious to the purest human experience happening as they drive by