Do you think social isolation has an effect not only on elderly but young generation also.?

Question

The youth of to day wants to spend time on the internet having impersonal contacts.making friends who ultimately remain, a mystery to them.Do u think that leads toward loneliness and depression.Personal communication between family members has diminished considerably

Answer 1

Funny you ask this question I'm currently reading a book called "Social Intelligence" Which touches on this subject as well as a few others plaguing our society today. The answer is yes humans are naturally a social species and IM is not even close to the same as real human contact. We have large areas of our brain devoted to interacting with others in our society. Each and every one of us has an effect on all of the people around us, even the ones we don't notice. Cells in our brain called mirror neurons react in accordance to the information that other people project at us.
Humans in isolation don't bode very well with the exception of very few. Being isolated for long times from other people can go as far as to cause delusions and hallucinations in people.

Answer 2

change is enivitable, so change continues. The change over the past several years has been that the cost of living has been high and in each generation the parents have wanted their kids to have either what they never had or to reach higher than they ever did or could. Since the 1960's I've seen the change that women had to start working to support their families because their men/husbands had died in war. In addition with the costs of everything going higher that meant both the husband and wife had to work to support their families, plus divorces began and people were then supporting two families or more. In the 1960's people were still taking in their elderly parents, elderly aunts and uncles and paying for their needs and giving them a room and taking them to doctor appointments. So it's not "social isolation" as you say but it's that young people (up thru their 40's or so) are so busy with their own lives and several families they've had and all the children they had and are supporting and supporting thru school (we used to have to work, get loans and pay for our own schooling while today parents think they are responsible for paying for their kids college, that's crazy). So all these selfish things of the younger generations have socially isolated the senior citizens and elderly. The problem is with the kids because they don't want to take responsibility.

Answer 3

Truly this is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand the greatest information stop in the world and in the other we hypnotism all but. I say yes because to much of anything does make you an addict.
Depression and loneliness these are some characteristic of an addict.
I'm a father of three who is very active,because I have three sons. I spend time with them on the video game but I also make them get off and get outside sometimes they may mean I have to do a couple kick flips on my board for them to go out, but whatever helps them to keep realizing that there's a whole other world out there and to utilize it.

The need is that they want someone to talk to be that someone show interest in what there doing don't get me wrong theres a level of privacy but just show the interest.

Answer 4

Social isolation is a problem at any age. I think the internet is another tool to be used to communicate with each other, and so a very good thing. Time spent learning, reading, communicating with colleagues, friends, distant family, or new people you meet. But for those of us on the computer a lot, interacting with people on line doesn't mean you can't take the time for the people in your house.

Answer 5

It can do, yes of course and also stunt social interaction with peers and assimilation with cultures. The attitudes on the street are not necessarily those of peers on the internet. Also body language and intonation are abesent from online conversations, making the interpretation a little literal, methinks.

On the flipside, it can help shy people and the elderly/infirm by keeping them in touch with other people and events. So it does have it's benefits too (aint that what Psychology is all about, both sides of the coin?)

Answer 6

This could be a yes or no thing, i believe it depends on the person. There are those who do better indirectly communicating with people and those who are social butterflies and they can balance there time between the computer and real life.
Those who in normal life dont do well talking to people have a place where they can communicate with people when they could have just locked themselves up in a room and throw away the key. This is their way of socializing, now that may not seen normal to most of us, but it helps them.
I think the key here is to find balance, humans do need others to talk to and to be with. Excluding yourself from social interactions can lead to mental illness in some cases or it could be a way for some not to fall into depression, i guess it just depends on the person in this situation. :)

Answer 7

I think it would need to be a case by case basis. It can have those effects. Dependant on the maturity of the child. Also in the home, the family need to limit a childs time on the computer and encourage interaction in the home with family.
Most kids attend school, church and other social activities as well as the home internet time. If a child is being allowed to not attend school, and allowed to spend the entire day on the internet and computer games, then issues in the home need to be changed. I feel it often still comes down to parental responsiblity to monitor and set limits.

Answer 8

It can do, yes of course and also stunt social interaction with peers and assimilation with cultures. The attitudes on the street are not necessarily those of peers on the internet. Also body language and intonation are abesent from online conversations, making the interpretation a little literal, methinks.

On the flipside, it can help shy people and the elderly/infirm by keeping them in touch with other people and events. So it does have it's benefits too (aint that what Psychology is all about, both sides of the coin?)

Answer 9

I am from this present generation and i strongly agree with you.
I am a very social person and like to make friends and interact with people.

But, i am new to the US and buffered by the local people I want to meet an interact and talk. And the people interested in talking to me always seem to have some hidden agenda (religious or other) and I often tend to turn to the internet to make friends, but it sometimes lacks the personal touch and makes you feel lonely and depressed. I also happen to miss my family a lot , so i guess that factors in too.

You just consciously seek to be accepted and hope someone out there can cuddle you and make you feel warm inside.

Answer 10

It is definitely changing things for the kids. But remember the old system had severe problems, it was nearly impossible for introverted kids to be popular, and the need to belong to a group was responsible for much evil in our society. Much of the drive to be popular ended up using drugs and doing self-destructive things. It might be an improvement to do things with the Internet, Yahoo answers does produce some wisdom now and then, and that is better than the school yard popular contests.