Changing times have accustomed us to perceive relying on ourselves as the ultimate gauge of success. But are we sure that self-reliance really means putting distance between ourselves and others? We can all relate to feeling lonely at times, but certain plunges are deeper than others, when we can’t help but feel overwhelmingly isolated by the amount of loneliness that saturates our lives.

The phenomenon of technology and ever-increasing social media channels that has gained momentum has altered the picture of human social interaction. Has social media lessened the distance between us, or has it magnified the miles into more intrinsic entities? Why is it that in a time and age where we worship the concept of thriving, we are petrified by the thought of organically meeting people? Could easier access to everything in the form of social media have something to do with this?

The unnoticed epidemic

In Australia, a ‘loneliness epidemic’ has enveloped much of the population, so much so that there appears to be a necessity for national action in the matter. The pinnacle of concern lies in the volume of individuals that succumb to depression and other mental ailments, at the root of which lies self or situationally imposed loneliness.

The COVID-19 pandemic certainly hasn’t helped matters. When already limited human interaction overlaps with the necessity to maintain physical distance, the result is an over-reliance on social media to fill a void. But the truth is, and something we’re rather adamant to accept, that this void has been there ever since social media made its global mark. So, can we truly put the entire blame on a global ailment, or did things become more noticeable when loneliness was ‘enforced’?

Is social media truly an unsurmountable evil and nothing more?

While the darker aspects of social media are essentially before us in the form of the psychological taxation it delivers in its wake; there's an undeniable need to acknowledge that social media certainly extends the premises of possibility beyond what we know. Social media steps up where communication isn’t a possibility otherwise, and to look over that is definitely naïve at best.

The consensus shows that the unhealthy usage of social media, as is common today, has a lot to do with social blackholes such as loneliness and very little to do with sustainable mental health. It rests upon us, as social media’s most avid frequenters, to question whether it accomplishes its initial purpose of stringing us humans closer together and in a the time of COVID is it even reasonable to try to answer this question? 

Research has shown human contact is extremely important to the mental health and wellbeing of individuals.  It increases neurotransmitters, lowers blood pressure when engaged in enjoyable activities and can also decrease stress.  Social media has the ability to do all these things to a lesser extent and for limited periods of time. In the midst of this ‘loneliness epidemic’, any contact that stimulates feelings of connectedness should be encouraged and if social media channels help us get there and reduce our loneliness, then I say celebrate its benefits.