The Epidemic of Loneliness in a Well-Connected Country Is Shocking

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ome it, I managed to find a wife. In my teens and twenties, I never thought that would happen.</p><h2 id="79f0">We can talk to thousands of people instantly, but we connect with none of them</h2><p id="9b43">The Digital Age we live in is a contributing factor. We chat with people online that we wouldn’t acknowledge if we passed them on the street. I have done this often. I didn’t always realize it, but it happened.</p><p id="1eb9">It’s weird. When you were younger, how often did you wait in line to buy tickets to a concert, or sporting event? I bet you struck up a conversation and made a few new friends while you waited.</p><p id="0c5d">I haven’t been to a concert in years. Now, people buy tickets online. They’re too busy looking at their phones when they go to the events. Taking selfies and posting to social media is more important. The person sitting next to them might as well not be there at all.</p><h2 id="f5f6">If you want to change, you have to make changes</h2><p id="bca3">Like everything else, you have to be proactive. I overcame my shyness when I understood that being alone wasn’t healthy. I had to force myself to talk to strangers that I ran into at a store, or waiting for a bus.</p><p id="1760">Our cell phones and tablets are fun to play with, but we have to remember that a human is sitting next to us. Who knows? Your future life partner might be sitting next to you. You will miss the opportunity because you’re staring at your phone.</p><h2 id="27aa">Look someone in the eye and shake hands</h2><p id="1424">Electronic devices aren’t the only villains. People consume too much news. They worry about catchi

Options

ng something or getting hurt. Folks have to decide. Be safe and be miserable, or take a chance and enjoy life.</p><p id="b31e"><a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/loneliness-is-harmful-to-our-nations-health/">Loneliness can shorten a life expectancy by as much as fifteen years. So, what’s the point? Get out of your shell, put your phone in your pocket, and talk to someone, it’s not to do with a little practice.</a></p><h2 id="13e1">We can talk to thousands of people with a click of the mouse, but we’re not connecting</h2><p id="e14c">The wired world we live in makes it easy to talk to strangers, but as humans, we need more than cyberspace. We need real interaction with another person sitting or standing next to us.</p><p id="5152">Keep your phone in your pocket and pay attention to the humans around you. The only cure for your loneliness is within you. You have to decide to change. Ten years ago, I decided to get out of my shell.</p><h2 id="8f54">I decided to get out and it changed my life</h2><p id="af23">I answered personal ads and got out and met people. I met a woman on Facebook. On September the 10th, 2017, we got married. It happened because I made the conscious decision to change my thoughts and behavior.</p><h2 id="4a48">Final Thought:</h2><p id="e99e">When you get down to it, Loneliness is a choice. Get out of the electronic bubble you’re existing in and talk to strangers. Choose a real connection. Make friends, you will live longer and be happier.</p><p id="8fba"><a href="https://lawsonwallace.medium.com/subscribe">Subscribe to get my stories in your inbox.</a></p></article></body>

Learn how to talk to the person standing next to you

My sister-in-law gave my wife an Echo Dot. My wife enjoys talking to the electric ball with a smart mouth. The other day she asked Alexa to play NPR News. I was trying to write in my journal and wasn’t listening but something grabbed my attention.

“ All the lonely people, where do they all come from?”

Eleanor Rigby lyrics by Paul McCartney

I didn’t know it had a name, I thought I was a shy doofus

I understand some of the reasons for my alienation from people. I am a shy person until I’m comfortable with him, or her. In the early nineties, A psychiatrist diagnosed “Avoidant Personality Disorder.

To make it easy to understand, I have no clue how to get out and make friends. I know how awkward I am. I’m learning how to overcome it, I managed to find a wife. In my teens and twenties, I never thought that would happen.

We can talk to thousands of people instantly, but we connect with none of them

The Digital Age we live in is a contributing factor. We chat with people online that we wouldn’t acknowledge if we passed them on the street. I have done this often. I didn’t always realize it, but it happened.

It’s weird. When you were younger, how often did you wait in line to buy tickets to a concert, or sporting event? I bet you struck up a conversation and made a few new friends while you waited.

I haven’t been to a concert in years. Now, people buy tickets online. They’re too busy looking at their phones when they go to the events. Taking selfies and posting to social media is more important. The person sitting next to them might as well not be there at all.

If you want to change, you have to make changes

Like everything else, you have to be proactive. I overcame my shyness when I understood that being alone wasn’t healthy. I had to force myself to talk to strangers that I ran into at a store, or waiting for a bus.

Our cell phones and tablets are fun to play with, but we have to remember that a human is sitting next to us. Who knows? Your future life partner might be sitting next to you. You will miss the opportunity because you’re staring at your phone.

We can talk to thousands of people with a click of the mouse, but we’re not connecting

The wired world we live in makes it easy to talk to strangers, but as humans, we need more than cyberspace. We need real interaction with another person sitting or standing next to us.

Keep your phone in your pocket and pay attention to the humans around you. The only cure for your loneliness is within you. You have to decide to change. Ten years ago, I decided to get out of my shell.