Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says

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pahunkboy -> Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 3:09:30 AM)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201763_pf.html <-- how does one improve ones life via this ??

Quivver -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 3:51:59 AM)
I'm not in the least surprised at the findings of this article. I've been living it for quite a while. What I've done is similar to the end of the article, I've turn to the net for my social interaction. Honestly I think many of us have done the same thing whether they want to admit it or not. Great article, definatly food for thought..................... [:)]

Lordandmaster -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 3:59:57 AM)
I'm not surprised either. You build a suburban wasteland with thousands of isolated homes, and people are going to start feeling isolated.

pahunkboy -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 4:18:15 AM)
- someone dies and it is a week before the body is discovered. I have noticed a shift. [seems] Malls and traffic are all there is. Not that every person I ever met has to be a friend. But it would be nice to reverse this trend. It isnt good for the soul, the mind, the body.

Quivver -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 6:54:11 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: pahunkboy Not that every person I ever met has to be a friend. But it would be nice to reverse this trend. It isnt good for the soul, the mind, the body. I was told not too long ago that "humans are Herd animals" .... I think they were trying to point out to me in words I'd understand that I need people in my life! LOL

sub4hire -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 7:22:00 AM)
People make choices, simple as that. A person is alone and isolated only because they want to be. I talk with my neighbors on a daily basis. I have 2 family nights a week where we all sit down as a family for dinner. I meet people within the community. I also don't have a lot of free time to socialize but I also know a healthy person must. You do what you have to do. Improving ones life is easy you just have to be dedicated to yourself.

NakedOnMyChain -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 10:19:50 AM)
Here's my take on social isolation: get up off the couch, turn off the TV, computer, video games, and cell phones, and start talking to real people. Get to know your neighbors, volunteer, talk to people at work, take up a hobby, take an exercise class, visit family. Do something! Don't sit there complaining about it! Make an effort! I know that won't work for everyone, but it would for the vast majority of people. I have no sympathy for people who have let themselves be sucked entirely into the world of pretty blinking electronic screens and then complain that they have no friends. It's a changeable state of existence, all you need to do is try.

FelinePersuasion -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 12:05:34 PM)
not as easy as onew ould think. I have tried to make friends offline tried to meet people and there just isn't any one I am meeting in the real world. Infact, i meet more poeple and a better quality of people online lol.

NakedOnMyChain -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 12:11:31 PM)
Like I said, it won't work for everyone. I know there are often extenuating circumstances. But you're out there making an effort, so it wasn't aimed at you.

ta2dqt -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 12:25:18 PM)
Try living in alaska.............. :p

Quivver -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 12:51:39 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: NakedOnMyChain Here's my take on social isolation: get up off the couch, turn off the TV, computer, video games, and cell phones, and start talking to real people. Get to know your neighbors, volunteer, talk to people at work, take up a hobby, take an exercise class, visit family. Do something! Don't sit there complaining about it! Make an effort! I know that won't work for everyone, but it would for the vast majority of people. I have no sympathy for people who have let themselves be sucked entirely into the world of pretty blinking electronic screens and then complain that they have no friends. It's a changeable state of existence, all you need to do is try. Ummm, (cough) I wasnt complaining........ as Sub4hire said, it has been my choice to live in away from the Urban Trash. I like it out here, I wasnt looking for sympathy. All I attempted to say; and I guess not to awfully clearly is that I've seen the break down in the social structure I came to know as a child to what it is today. Not just in my own life but also in those I've known for years. Which is better? Turn the clock back? No way... Each to their own.......... and we'll make what works best for us in the long run.

lisa1978 -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 1:18:39 PM)
I really do not think for most people that they even realize they are isolating themselves until it happens. I know at my age I am starting to lose more consistent contact with friends and cousins. It seems to me that people get wrapped up in their jobs and family and time talking to a friend or family member on the phone becomes about convenience than wanting to. Cellphones and Emails have done damage in this area. I know I am starting to get very frustrated with some friends because they will only talk or see me and others if they have nothing better to do. It is becoming rarer and rarer to talk to a friend when they are not bored in a car or stuck in a hotel on business. I wonder if we are seeing this because our social skills are eroding or we are doing this to ourselves and therefore that is why our social skills erode. Chicken or the egg sort of thing.

NakedOnMyChain -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 1:34:49 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Quivver Ummm, (cough) I wasnt complaining........ as Sub4hire said, it has been my choice to live in away from the Urban Trash. I like it out here, I wasnt looking for sympathy. All I attempted to say; and I guess not to awfully clearly is that I've seen the break down in the social structure I came to know as a child to what it is today. Not just in my own life but also in those I've known for years. Which is better? Turn the clock back? No way... Each to their own.......... and we'll make what works best for us in the long run. No, no, no! It wasn't aimed at you! LOL. It wasn't aimed at anyone. It was just a general response to the article. Trust me, I understand being lonely and isolated. It's just that it seems society nowdays lends itself to sitting on the couch watching "Survivor" and not forming any real alliances of our own.

shigglyboom -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 2:57:40 PM)
Pahunkboy, I'm so glad you posted this. It's fascinating and important. Thank you. Like Quivver, I've gone through this too and fought/continue to fight my way back. Although I agree everyone needs to get off the couch, I don't think the larger problem is necessarily about lack of physical access to or talk time with other people so much as that the content of our routine interactions has changed. These days I don't think people often confide in others when they do talk, the way people perhaps used to more habitually. People are too worried; too distracted and stressed out; too new to each other; too far from relatives and old friends; too trained by TV to be shallow; too afraid of being judged. We've all lived through Survivor and the rise of the PR industry. We all know that alliances switch and that personal success is all about keeping up a good front. We're becoming more educated, more accustomed to criticizing others and distrustful of others' agendas. And we've forgotten what it means to have, and to be, a friend. It's true the internet has exploded our capacity for making connections - and yet, whether online, in the workplace, or out in a neighborhood - most interactions are superficial. And therein is the rub. We have spouses, family, friends, bulletin board and chat friends, and we can't figure out what's missing. It's intimacy. In my experience the loneliest loneliness is when you are living with the illusion of intimacy but not the reality. That's why the internet is not the panacea. The keyboard's never gonna hug anyone back.

NakedOnMyChain -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 4:00:02 PM)
Well said, shigglyboom. (I really like typing your name, by the way. It's even more fun if you say it out loud. Shigglyboom. Shigglyboom. Hehehe. Yay!)

UtopianRanger -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 9:50:06 PM)
quote: Here's my take on social isolation: get up off the couch, turn off the TV, computer, video games, and cell phones, and start talking to real people. Excellent posts by both Naked and Shiggy. The writer behind the article is correct....the TV is the culprit ; It both desensitizes and isolates. During the summer time... I probably watch less than three hrs per week Yanno....I'll never understand why so many smart people would choose to interact with / in such a passive medium? I really think it dums people down and turns them into simpletons. - R

FelinePersuasion -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/23/2006 10:57:22 PM)
My tv is rarely on, It's mypc that's on all day and all night:D quote: ORIGINAL: UtopianRanger quote: Here's my take on social isolation: get up off the couch, turn off the TV, computer, video games, and cell phones, and start talking to real people. Excellent posts by both Naked and Shiggy. The writer behind the article is correct....the TV is the culprit ; It both desensitizes and isolates. During the summer time... I probably watch less than three hrs per week Yanno....I'll never understand why so many smart people would choose to interact with / in such a passive medium? I really think it dums people down and turns them into simpletons. - R

Moloch -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/24/2006 6:40:49 AM)
Hey whats wrong with alaska? Its a magificent place, also an EXCELLENT place to learn REAL flying skills.

pahunkboy -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/24/2006 6:41:34 AM)
Some very good ideas here. This is a huge issue. I did get out the other day- 3 laps walk at the park. More of that would be good. :-)

sub4hire -> RE: Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says (6/24/2006 8:01:13 AM)
I've met some truly excellent people hiking in the parks around me. Though I've met some excellent people at the supermarket. If I care to I can meet a person anywhere and instantly mesh with them. I'm just so busy most days I don't care to....which gets back to. If you really want it, it will happen. If not....well then you can come here and complain about it not happening for you.

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