🌃 Urban loneliness: a long-standing virtual pandemic.
Though not felt physically, it affects many people and has its high-risk consequences.
It is quite ironic that big cities housing millions are the world’s hub of loneliness. Your brain looks after you so much that it recognizes when you need to build up your support system and reach out to others—this is when the feeling of loneliness arises.
This vulnerable emotion is heightened when you’re surrounded by a lot of human activities, but not necessarily involved directly. Such disconnection is commonly felt in urban settings, and has been long felt due to the design of most big cities.
The city spells
Despite being known for its higher crime rates and dense water and air pollution, the city seems to never run out of charms to lure people in. Its attractiveness is both a blessing and a curse, as it offers an abundance of opportunities that come with its prices—like urban loneliness.
By definition, urban loneliness is a deep sense of isolation and alienation from one’s surroundings despite living in a highly urban (and therefore populated) setting. It is caused by an accumulation of different factors, such as:
Transient City Population
In a desire to be successful, people move from city to city to pursue their dream career, hence not giving enough time to develop meaningful bonds with others. This creates individualism and a blocker between us and companionship.
Urban-Rural Divide
Not only socially but geographically, living in the city is designed for loneliness to thrive. Only 24% of city dwellers reported knowing all or most of their neighbors, while over 40% of those living in rural areas do.
Social Media Affliction
Social media is to the mind what sugar is to the body, says mental health expert Dr. Shyam Bhat. In moderation, the use of social media could help ease loneliness, but there’s always the danger of pseudo-connection and toxicity.
Demanding Jobs
As working hours get longer, and ‘hustle culture’ solidifying its reign, people in the city give up spending time to form meaningful relationships in order to acquire more possessions and material wealth.
Human Nature
The overwhelming numbers we face in large cities are more likely to fill us with anxiety instead of the instinct to reach out and make friends. In a sea of faces, individuality tends to get blurred out.
This article by LifeBonder writer, Trevor Wilson, captures the essence of urban loneliness best.
Is it that serious, though?
A UK survey found that children in cities are four times lonelier than children living in the countryside. With the advent of capitalism and technology, loneliness is a natural outcome of development.
Among other more-pressing issues in their hectic lives, loneliness seems to be the least of most city people’s problems. But when ignored, it can cause worse things than even smoking and obesity. Here are some facts to serve as a reminder for those who have not acknowledged the severity of urban loneliness:
A meta-analysis of more than 3.4 million participants indicates that loneliness increases the risk of early death by 30%.
According to the Cigna study, loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Researchers found that the ventral striatum, a region of the brain associated with rewards and critical to learning, is more activated in non-lonely people.
The temporoparietal junction, a region associated with taking the perspective of another person, is much less activated among the lonely
From serious physical conditions like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease to psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, the health impact of loneliness is well-documented.
Read more about urban loneliness as a public health challenge in the article here.
Looking at the ‘Third Places’
Urban loneliness is connected to population mobility, declining community participation and a growth in single-occupant households. As more than two-thirds of the world is expected to live in cities by 2050, governments are looking for ways to prevent and diminish this public health threat.
The concept of third place, developed by Ray Oldenburg, is distinct from first and second places. Basically:
A first place is the private space of home.
Second places are where people spend significant time, often formally. These include schools, universities and workplaces.
Common examples of third places in cities include community gardens, libraries, public swimming pools, cafes, men’s sheds, farmers’ markets and dog parks.
Creating more ‘third places’ in larger cities can help with urban loneliness, as they:
Create or enhance a sense of community on a smaller, more human scale – a relief from the overwhelming sensory experience of a large and unfamiliar city.
Encourage conversations in a homely atmosphere, as people are free to come and go without obligation and the diversity of users is high.
Bring people together based on shared spaces, which become more important than individual histories.
Learn more about the steps to take in providing quality third places in this The Conversation piece.
Have you experienced urban loneliness? Or, have you witnessed someone you know experience it before?
It is indeed an unpleasant experience, but we can all learn to be equipped and to manage loneliness better with this Monday Mavens edition.
We’ll see you next week with yet another insightful edition.
Cheers!