Foreword

This essay is one that I wrote this past month for my AP Seminar class. I have updated it for less academic audiences. Hopefully, this essay will be the first of many that I start writing and publishing on this website. If you have any inquiries or suggestions to topics I could cover, email me at tyler.devtcn@gmail.com.

In his famous poetry book “Looking for the Gulf Motel,” Richard Blanco describes the loss of his parents and the connection that he shared with them, one bound by memories and sensations. In much the same way, people around the world are suffering from a loss of human connection. As humans evolve, we increasingly find ourselves isolated from each other, our eyes glued to a new, digitized reality that serves as a substitute for the one around us. This retraction into ourselves happens regardless of class, political party, or nationality. At this point in time, many still argue over the causes of this retraction, with each side reflexively claiming the other is the unequivocal force to blame for the issue at hand. Some spend their time attempting to downplay this issue as nothing more than the complaints of a vocal few. Taking these factors into account, I carefully investigated the different schools of thought on this issue. That way, I was able to get a more holistic view of this issue then I could otherwise have. From my research, I have concluded that the loss of human connection is the result of a crisis of meaning, one exacerbated by the loss of meaning-making structures, technological consumption, and the death of the family structure. This crisis threatens our human connections by destabilizing our society and destroying the lives of the people that live in it, creating a vicious cycle.

Deteriorating Connection

Human connection, that is to say the summation of our relationships with, memories of, and emotions about other people, is in a state of serious decline. As data-gathering organizations like Pew Research Center have noted, an increasing number of Americans know very few of their neighbors, with a significant number of people knowing none of them [1]. This goes along with a larger trend of people who, simply put, do not trust the people in their social circles. As enrolled in some of the most competitive majors to date, it is understandable that those who study the health sciences are subjected to a more stressful experience than those who choose to major in other fields. Despite this fact, a research paper for the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education by four post-doctoral students found in their survey of thousands of health science students, one-fifth of them experience social isolation [2]. In addition, competition with others was seen as a barrier to socialization, due to the endemic distrust among students [2]. While this case does consist of those at the top of the academic strata, the elements of a deteriorating human connection, particularly those of social isolation, are present not just in our relationships with our neighbors, but our trust with other people broadly. In addition, a 2018 study of over 20,000 Americans published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found nearly half of Americans feel lonely, with two in five Americans saying that their relationships have no meaning at all [3]. This trend of social isolation found in the health sciences is found, to a higher degree, in society overall, indicating a more widespread phenomenon. By taking all of this into account, the fact that isolation and the loss of social connection cut across all variations of Americans truly points to a decline in our society as a whole.

Most people may agree that there is a loss of human connection in society today, but many dispute the cause of it. However, widely-published behavioral scientist and psychology professor Clay Routledge contends that a crisis of meaning make far more sense and pushes out these other causes, usually pointed to as automation or the decline in religious attitudes. In his article published in the online academic magazine Quillette entitled “Meaning Matters,” Routledge points out that all the signs of a decline in human connection line up with a crisis of meaning. As he puts it, “The more people feel strongly connected to others, the more they perceive life as meaningful. Social exclusion, ostracism, and loneliness all lead to feelings of meaninglessness” [4]. Relying on his own research into meaning, Routledge argues that feeling like a burden on other people puts one on at a high risk of suicide, in part because it leads to meaninglessness. The theme of lost meaning is consistent with the findings presented previously, which found that many Americans find their relationships with others meaningless [3]. The intricate mixture of meaninglessness and social connection, coupled with Routledge’s tying of loneliness to a crisis of meaning, bolsters the notion that society is suffering from such a crisis.

Underlying Causes of the Crisis

Beyond establishing the existence of the crisis of meaning, it is also imperative to understand what could cause such a complex issue as it. The loss of religiosity in the world, that is to say the lack of strong religious feelings, is often said to be the cause of this crisis, and with good reason. Churches are essentially small communities that people can join, form friendships, and create social bonds with others. In “Meaning Matters,” Clay Routledge points out that religion does not just provide community, but a meaning-making structure, mainly the imposition of social duties onto an adherent for them to act out. As he puts it, understanding the psychology of religion, perhaps without adhering to any, can help one understand the meaning in their life [4]. This is commensurate with the observable truth that, as noted by Pew Research Center, people who are actively religious are far more likely to be happy than their secular counterparts [5]. The broad domain of this survey shows that across cultures, there is a noted communal benefit to being religious. Unfortunately, this positive correlation is countered by a negative trend. According to America’s Changing Religious Identity, a report published by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, the number of Americans who identify as religious is going down fast [6]. This fact, while not causally related to the loss of human connection, is a convenient occurence that seems to increase the likelihood of something going wrong. With social isolation and meaninglessness at an all time high, the lack of religiosity appears to contribute to this issue, with an examination of religious values that Routledge suggests being a possible solution.

Another place many seek to place the blame onto is technological consumption, a category that amounts to an amalgamation of smartphones, too much screen time, and too many video games. Partially, this is true. According to a paper published in the American Journal for Preventative Medicine by nine researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine of the 2,000 young adults who completed the survey provided those who used social media more perceived themselves as socially isolated at a much higher rate than those who use less social media [7]. The finding of social media as a cause of social isolation points to a more nuanced reality on technological consumption: the issue is not the technology itself, but the way in which it is used. In the case of social media, a well intentioned platform for connecting the world has transformed into yet another way to isolate people into arbitrary groups, where all the nuance and emotion of physical conversation is instead compressed into pixelated characters and images. Despite this, some argue that technology is used to unite us. An instance of this would be a speech titled “Gaming can make a better world” given by Jane McGonigal, an author who holds a Ph. D. in performance studies, on how online activities, and more specifically games, can be designed to unite us. She cites widely popular, collaborative games like World of Warcraft as a model for how to solve problems and, as the title of her talk states, create a better world [8]. Some like McGonigal may argue that technology is used to connect us, and although the idea has merit, the truth is the opposite. As with most things that are left up to the free market, those who develop technology like games will sacrifice the social connections a product could have for the profit it will create. In this way, the manner in which technology is used and created are contributing factors in the continual social isolation, and crisis of meaning, that we face.

An additional cause of this crisis of meaning is the breakdown of the family structure, mainly due to the physical isolation people are experiencing in tandem with their digital isolation. This is evident in the conclusions of widely-published social scientist Neil Howe in “Millennials And The Loneliness Epidemic.” In this Forbes article, Howe points out that single-person households are on the rise, now making up the second-most common household type as well as doubling in number over the past 50 years [9]. By physically isolating ourselves, we deprive ourselves of the most important source of meaning we can ever have: other people. This not only happens in the single person realm, but the marital realm as well. As noted by Pew Social Trends, the number of two-parent households is in serious decline, falling over 18% in the past 50 years, with the number of single-parent households rising fast [10]. In addition to affecting developed adults, physical isolation has severely impacted young children, children who rely on their parents to teach them to create connection with other people. In short, the physical deprivation of meaning, coupled with the digital isolation we face, is extremely detrimental to the human connections we need to forge.

Effects

At the end of the day, the question still remains: Why does any of this matter? Such a question is incredibly important, and careful examination shows that the effects of such a deterioration of social connections is incredibly devastating. In an academic paper published in the research Psychiatry Research by two researchers at the Department of Psychology in George Mason University, a survey of people found that not living a meaningful life was directly tied to a large risk factor for suicide [11]. This falls in line with the larger pattern described in the paper, where the suicide rate across countries is skyrocketing [11]. In short, the loss of human connection leads, and has led, to a mass suicide epidemic that will destroy our society. Another important thing to consider is the cycle that these causes propagate, which further destroys the social fabric. Physical isolation leads to less participation in group activities like churchgoing, and lack of churchgoing leads to a deprivation of meaning, which leads to loneliness and then suicide. All of these things feed into each other and the cycle that they create slowly chips away at our society, increasing the rate of suicides and destroying the social connections that we forge.

Given the overlapping phenomena such as increased loneliness, more suicide, and much more social withdrawl, there is a definite link between a crisis of meaning and the loss of human connection. While many are quick to dismiss this issue, the many consequences of ignoring such an issue should be reason enough to warrant an investigation. Understanding the root causes behind such a devastating force to society as this can help everyone find a solution that can fix the ties that bind us together. Only together can we solve the issues that split us apart.

References