All The Lonely People – Do They Belong Anywhere?

 

Remember the Beatles' magnificent song "Eleanor Rigby" and its memorable line: "All the lonely people/Where do they all belong?" That song always made me feel sad because I couldn't understand loneliness in my young life. I – fortunate to have a loving family –didn't see cases of people being lonely.

Of course, as I grew up I encountered numerous cases of people being lonely. It wasn't just poor Eleanor Rigby – there were real people who were living alone and staring out windows. I'd see them everyday on my way to work. They were people that I knew in my neighborhood that either lost a spouse or a parent, and now they were all on their own. 

I started thinking about this again today when I read a BBC article about lonely young people in China – there will be approximately 200 million young people living alone by 2030 in that country. 

It tells about an app that young people in China are using entitled "Are You Dead?" Apparently, it is very popular because it is a way to confirm that the person is still alive. If you don't routinely confirm that you're still breathing on the app, it will contact people on a list that you have provided to let them know you may be in trouble. 

Now, this got me thinking that this app would probably be successful here in the USA. I personally know people who are living alone –some of them for many years. Does our country have a problem with loneliness too?

I did a little research and discovered an article that explains how more than half of the American people (57%) are lonely. More than half? It seems that technology has worked against us in this situation. The more we are on our phones and behind closed doors, the more we are isolated.

COVID certainly didn't help matters. It forced many people to be alone, digging a deep hole which was harder and harder over time to escape. Having taught online at that time, students were given permission – since the situation was forced upon them by the virus – to keep their cameras off. Some of them never bounced back. 

I'm not sure that there is a way out of this mess. We can make an effort to reach out to people and try to check in on them, but this situation is bigger than we can handle alone, but if everyone came together and reached out to people they know who are lonely, that can make a difference. 

Are you feeling lonely? Do you want to know and understand why people are lonely? Check out a survey done by the Cigna Group. You will be shocked about how pervasive loneliness is in our world. 

If you want to get help, speak to your doctor about it sooner rather than later. Reach out to friends and relatives who probably don't know how you feel. Text CONNECT to 741741 for free, 24/7 support from trained counselors. In the UK call 116 123 (UK) for someone to talk to. 

Let's get help if we need it and help those people we know who are lonely and make an effort

to end this epidemic of loneliness!