Book Theme: Social Isolation
The latest blog in this series of topics related to themes explored in my upcoming science fiction novel addresses social isolation. The purpose of this blog entry is to discuss some of the common causes of social isolation as well as the effects that it can have on young people. For the sake of brevity I’ll refer to ‘social isolation’ as SI. When discussing SI it is helpful to first establish its definition. SI is the lack of social contacts and having few people to interact with regularly. SI should not be confused with loneliness which could be associated with it but not necessarily.
In determining whether one’s SI is simply a chosen way of life or signs of a deeper problem it is beneficial to examine the factors that have contributed to the situation. The most common factors cited for developing SI range from psychological trauma to mobility impairments to mental health conditions and cognitive decline to simply living alone. But in more recent times, social distancing and quarantining have become common contributors to SI as well.
I will start with psychological trauma since it very interesting and may arguably be the most complex cause. There are many sources for such trauma: loss of a loved one, near-death experiences, being kidnapped, etc. Psychological trauma is a tricky factor to figure out mainly because it is not always predictable how someone will react after being subjected to it. One such reaction is a withdrawal from social circles. Being that cases vary wildly there is no standard analysis that applies here. Some could have a newfound distrust of people, possibly even dislike or hatred. Others can just be scared or hesitant to engage with a society that they feel, consciously or subconsciously, is not deserving of their trust. The common theme for those who suffered psychological trauma and choose SI as a way to navigate through life on a short-term or long-term basis is that they link the feelings associated with the trauma to society as a whole. This is clearly unhealthy for multiple reasons. Chiefly among those reasons is that this approach misdirects one’s focus from overcoming the trauma with a skewed perception of reality.
Mobility impairment is a pretty straightforward factor that accounts for all the ailments that either keep you from physically interacting with others or makes it extremely labor intensive to do so. Such impairments could be from internal sources (e.g. ailments one is born with or natural develop later in life) or external sources (e.g. being a victim of a car crash or contracting a debilitating disease). Whichever the case, the daunting task of dealing with the mobility impairment is already a mental weight that the afflicted has to carry in addition to trying to keep up social interactions with others. The prospect of the mental and physical toll that condition could take on a person makes it understandable for them to choose SI as a way to significantly lessen the load in order to achieve the greater goal of either recovery or ultimately adapting to life with the impairment.
Mental health conditions and cognitive decline are particularly disheartening factors because the person suffering from some of these ailments may not necessarily be in their right mind to choose whether or not they want to engage in SI. Such persons may very well be completely unaware that they have cut themselves off from their family, friends, and associates. In some ways these factors are the most devastating simply because oftentimes they are irreversible or incurable. The most impactful aspect of some mental health conditions as well as cognitive decline is that the victim’s perception of reality can become distorted to the point that SI becomes a tool they use to defend themselves against a world that terrifies and confuses them.
Living alone is a factor that is often void of the external and internal variables that are present in the previous factors mentioned. Instead, this factor is based heavily on the individual’s conscious choice to not engage in SI. The reasons for why people choose to live this way vary greatly. Some do it to help simplify their lives. Others do so because they aren’t a “people person”. And yet many others have completely different motivations. What can be denoted as a commonality among those living alone is the act of taking more control and responsibility for their lives. SI oftentimes serves as an extension of that control. It could be motivated by convenience, safety concerns, comfort level, or some other benefit that one feels will add to the desired existence they wish to establish.
On a darker note, if a person living alone decides to socially isolate themselves it could also be a sign that they are withdrawing from society due to experiences that have either dulled their desires to socialize with other people or has caused them to eliminate that desire altogether. Those past experiences will vary, and the interesting thing is that they do not always have an apparent correlation with the SI. By that I mean that those past experiences did not necessarily involve interactions with people, but they negatively affected the person’s worldview and how they perceive the value of those interactions. For instance, suppose someone living alone loses interest in hanging out with their friends due to their shame and self-pity associated with losing their job. In that scenario, the so-called comfort that they feel by wallowing in self-pity is only exacerbated when they intentionally or instinctually hide themselves from their social circles to avoid awkward situations/conversations or being judged to their face. This all comes back to the prior issue of controlling one’s own environment by limiting the variables that could potentially disturb it (e.g. other people).
For a timely angle, quarantining and social distancing have proven to be major contributors to SI among the global population as a consequence of the current pandemic. These forms of SI are completely different from all the previously mentioned factors mainly because they are largely encouraged by society. The most dangerous aspect of the current state of affairs is that it has the potential to shape the minds of an entire generation in a manner that may seriously stunt the development of their socialization skills. And this could lead to an even larger percentage of society engaging in SI. On an individual level the positive and negative effects can’t really be quantified since they would have to be taken on a case by case basis. However, at the macro level there are real potential downsides that could be felt throughout society, particularly among the younger generations.
It is the younger generations that I want to bring the focus of this blog towards for the finale. All of the aforementioned factors apply to them as well, but due to the fact that their young lives are being molded during these rather unusual times they are exponentially more vulnerable to the adverse effects of SI compared to the older demographics. Some of those potential effects include not developing adequate socialization skills, more widespread depression, loss of a sense of community, more anarchistic outlooks and behaviors just to name a few. I can only imagine that the results of such a population eventually taking control of society could be disastrous.
I do not claim to have any in-depth analysis on how we as a society should address that last scenario that I mentioned. However, in the big picture, I do know that our so-called leadership in government and science are not performing up to the task to help ensure that the population is well-informed and on the same page. It really did not start with the current pandemic but rather decades ago when people justifiably began losing faith in our government as well as other institutions of leadership. With that loss of faith grew a sense of disconnection, mistrust, nihilism, and SI throughout much society. And it only appears to be getting much worse.