The discomfort and alienation of lonliness

The discomfort of loneliness

Before we started this blog there was a discussion about the pervasiveness of loneliness in our society that causes us all to feel discomfort in the distancing from each other. Whether this comes in the form of the elderly generation at home alone or in the interactions between strangers that are bereft of sincerity. 

Discomfort, or the feeling of not belonging, is pervasive even in our society of constant interaction. The state of rootlessness in a place has become less important to our generation as moving out of home becomes a key part of adulthood. As such people and the places we engage and interact with becomes more fluid, yet loses the more permanent relationship that comes with knowing the land and people that live there. 

"Three months ago we read that loneliness has become an epidemic among young adults. Now we learn that it is just as great an affliction of older people. A study by Independent Age shows that severe loneliness in England blights the lives of 700,000 men and 1.1m women over 50, and is rising with astonishing speed." - George Monbiot 

I think we can have a positive intervention into people's everyday discomforts by making the world seem smaller and more local. The badges on the tube are one way of achieving this but I personally think it's still too impersonal a method of creating a tangible or meaningful change in interactions. 

Public transport is the low-hanging fruit in the potential venues for our intervention, if we are specifically going to highlight everyday interactions.

What do we think should be the target for our action?





 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/01/future-of-loneliness-internet-isolation

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/14/age-of-loneliness-killing-us