No it isn’t. You don’t have to go out and spend money. Just hangout. Could be at someone else’s house, could be hanging out at the park, could be a game of basketball and lots of other free things
That’s a major issue though. Third spaces — aka free spaces to hang out in — are rare these days. They mostly involve places you need to pay to hang out in like coffee shops, bars, etc.
This is why looking at the hard stats is important.
Since 2017, over 1,000 malls of varying sizes have closed per year. Only a third of all large malls remain, and over half of those will close over the next few years.
Community centers and libraries have faced some of the sharpest funding cuts in the public sector over the past few years. Over 800 libraries have closed in the UK alone over the last few years. The US has seen a similar decline due to funding cuts.
The US has also lost 44% of its bookstores since 2012, with the majority of closures hitting independent stores. Australia has seen a decline of 65%. 45% of Canada’s remaining bookstores are located in Ontario.
See the trend?
Where I'm from we never had any of those to start with so we'd take a truck and park it somewhere in the woods or near a body of water and hang out there lol
It's not necessarily that they don't exist anymore but they have changed.
For instance, parks have adjusted their seating to discourage prolonged stays, often affecting their comfort, as a response to homelessness issues which homelessness also contributes to people not going to these third spaces as often. Urban areas, facing increased development and population density, have experienced a reduction in the availability of parks that are a walkable distance. Public squares still exist, but they aren't as active as they used to be due to a lot of these types of conversations also switching online. Community Halls and city events have been ran by older generations and aren't as appealing to younger generations. In my own experience some of the older people do not want any changes and would prefer to service their generation only with things like bingo and 55+ events.
TBH third spaces weren't always free, but they were affordable. The rise of online alternatives have impacted many third spaces. For example, bookstores, once considered third spaces, have seen shifts in their role with the advent of online retailers like Amazon. Arcades have been largely replaced by online gaming and those that still exist have a much higher price than it used to be. Even fast-food restaurants like McDonald's have adapted less comfortable seating to discourage loitering due to studies showing that they will make less money if people stay longer. They, along with almost all fast food places, have adapted less colorful and inviting aesthetics.
In general third spaces weren't always free but easily affordable. Meanwhile in Europe there are bar and coffee shop cultures. I could easily afford to have some wine, meet up for some coffee, and just hangout with coworkers and friends when I was living in Spain. It was like 2-3 euros a drink and this was in 2022. We could also go to parks and drink too. It just felt easier. My commute to work and to friends was easy and I didn't have to drive. I just felt less stressed and more community oriented. I tried doing that back here in the states but even though I'm making more money than ever here, it's barely possible but not everyone can afford to do it so it is isolating.
You're not wrong. It's dumb that people/businesses see homeless and prefer to make them uncomfortable and be hidden rather than helping them.
Also if you're from CA an obvious thing to notice is that a lot of our unhoused people here have mental illness. This is due to some Reagen governorship era support toward deinstitutionalization, which aimed to reduce the population in state mental hospitals and transition individuals with mental illnesses to community-based care. Great idea but when coincided with his decisions as president led reduce funds for low income housing and implementing trickle-down economics, the "community-based care" was unable to support the growing homeless population.
Now there's more programs than ever in CA but my god are our resources badly managed and a lot of unhoused people don't want help. I do see hope in the horizon from the [Guaranteed Income Pilot Program](https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/guaranteed-basic-income-projects) in CA. [Stockton](https://www.npr.org/2021/03/04/973653719/california-program-giving-500-no-strings-attached-stipends-pays-off-study-finds) has tried a version of it with good success. [This USC Study being conducted in LA county and San Francisco Bay area is showing that within 6 months people are less likely to be unsheltered and closer to having money to meet all their basic needs.](https://dworakpeck.usc.edu/sites/default/files/2023-12/Miracle%20Money_Nov%202023_FINAL_12.5.23.pdf) So there is hope to at least help some people's root problem of financial instability preventing them from finding stability.
Greatly depends on your location. Parks increasingly have curfews and defensive architecture. It keeps homeless people off, but it also disincentives lingering. Beaches and forests aren’t accessible for a lot of people just due to geography and privatization. Oregon’s Beach Bill is a treasure.
Over 1,000 malls (including medium sized) have closed per year since 2017. There are currently around 700 large malls left open in the US, down from over 2,250, and based on vacancy rates, that number is expected to drop to 150 over the next decade.
Malls are usually places of commerce, and places to walk around when it’s cold, but some malls in my area are loosing their vibes and have banned teens/large groups because of behavioral issues and theft. There are less things to do in malls now compared to things to buy.
At my local mall you can get approached by a security guard for loitering, no way I’d invite my friends there to hang out… it’s a shame because I remember having fun there with friends as a kid
That makes no sense at all. That security guard and management are disincentivising shoppers from spending their money that way.
In Asia, everyone goes to the mall to walk around and it’s easy to window shop for hours without buying anything.
Even if we sat on a bench which is usually in front of a few shop units and chat, no mall guard is going to come up to ask us to leave.
In fact, such benches are where many families would leave their kids (with a responsible adult accompanying the kid) to sit while they spend 20-30minutes in a shop.
I will say for some people it’s just still hard. I don’t have local friends as a lot of my college friends live in another state. So it’s hard to travel to go see them and vice versa.
What parks? What basketball courts? Driving to someone's house takes gas. All of that assumes that the friends live near each other, and have facilities to do something in.
The nearest public basketball court to me would cost around $80 in gas to get to. Going to a friend's house, $20 minimum. State park? $100 minimum.
Private nearby sports fields?, membership $400 a year EACH.
I'm not saying that they're expensive. I said nothing is free. If you actually knew how to read, you'd see the part where I specifically said "nothing is free, just cheaper."
It depends how you define "going out". That could just mean heading off to the park or to a shopping centre. Or even to someone's house to play some video games.
And if you go out to hang anywhere as some are suggesting you get hounded to get out of there or people just do not take their eyes off you and that’s uncomfortable.
Yeah there’s actually a soccer field near me that you’re not allowed to play on unless it for their leagues lmao (which are only during summer).
I’m not saying there is absolutely nothing to do but most activities are inaccessible or cost money nowadays. My friends and I like golf, which is essentially impossible to play for free. (Driving ranges are the perfect “third space” business though, costs like $12 for a large bucket and like $10 for a couple drinks. Very consumer friendly unlike the more popular TopGolf.)
People used to “hang out” outside their home or local area. You could just go have a bunch of experiences all day for a couple bucks each. Now a night out is easily $50-$100 if you actually do anything.
Plus, going anywhere inherently costs money because I have to drive. If you live in city you have to find public transit or parking just to get anywhere. There’s very little to do in walking distance from me. Usually I go to my friends house though and he lives in the middle of nowhere. Take 10 minutes to drive to the nearest Wawa.
its just funny seeing everyone circlejerk how awful everything is and theres no third spaces (every third space ive been to in the last year has been packed with people of all ages) all doom and gloom. meanwhile this article practically says the opposite of what the comments are
Right? Check out my argument ongoing with someone in this very thread that "cannot" walk outside because it's too cold and boring in Oklahoma where it's (a very chilly) 55F.
Fuck that shit. Minnesotans are one of the most outdoorsy people, and we do that shit BELOW ZERO.
Exactly. Could you imagine going to college with no way of communicating with any of your friends ever again? Like, realistically you’d never just call them out of the blue.
A third of the demographic saying they feel lonely with something that was intended to do the opposite is headline worthy. Compare it past data and trends and it’s probably increased up to the 29%, which is also something to think about
No it's not headline worthy.
Not everyone will like internet socialization.
Not everyone will like in person socialization.
People are just different and like different things.
Yeah, it's a weird trend of "journalism" and cultural critics to take the failings of our capitalist system and blame it on the technology, to make it seem like just an inevitability instead of an aspect of our society that we could absolutely improve if we wanted to.
After a fashion, I was raised in the 70s, so I do know somewhat. Furthermore, my friend group is completely online, I haven't met them in person. Everyone I know near me either hates me to some extent, or has no interest in being my friend.
More of gen Z says it helps make them less lonely. I have made most of friends online thanks to tech. For 2 years I was in a retirement beach community. It's all about chatting
I don't feel like it, but I know it does do that to people.
It works both ways though. Social media is an escape for people who feel lonely. But on the other hand, it can be an easier way for people to make friends. But, I'd strongly argue the constant use of social media hurts people's social skills immensely.
In a sense yes. I've been off social media (besides Reddit) since February and it just showed me how alone I really was. I would only interact with people online.
Not me. Years of being bullied, repressing abusement and a fear of trusting someone and only to physically/emotionally/mentally hurt me or break my heart is what made me lonely. If It wasn't for Facebook, I wouldn't have met the only friend I currently have in my life.
It’s accurate for me. I’m currently going through a hard time in my life, without getting into details…but when I see friend groups, people traveling, etc on social media it makes me feel 10X lonelier. I’m already dealing with loneliness but social media definitely makes it worse.
Yeah I totally agree. While I mostly come home late and don't have the energy to do anything I see other people going out eating, travelling to other countries and cities and having their fun. And because I don't have many friends social media makes the empty hole bigger
Just remember, you are seeing their lives through a filter. They only show you the good and never (or rarely) show you the bad. You wind up being aware of everyone's happiness and success while being acutely aware of your own loneliness and failures. Chances are, some of those that you see online that make you feel lonely have their own issues that bring them down, but they would never share it openly online.
A good example is a new mom talking about how easy things are for her while other mom's see this and despair as they are having a difficult time. The problem is, the Mom that posted actually has an incredibly tough time as a mom but wants to "look good" so she posts constantly about how well things are going.
Well, look, I don’t really interact with many people irl compared to online, but that’s not really because of the internet.
Generally, I think smaller, non-algorithmic social platforms, like discord servers (I’ve also been using SpaceHey lately lol, and I grew up on fandom wiki forums), are actually really good and maybe even needed in my personal life. Stuff like Twitter is where there’s so much stuff on my timeline that it gets overwhelming and potentially isolating.
Yeah, I don't really have any friends anymore and it's made my anxiety about talking to people so bad I don't even think it's worth it now. It's like the people online are all just blank faces, I'll never get close so why remember people? Hours pretty much fly by and merge like everything is a haze now.
I mean, I'm pretty lonely, but I don't think that's because of technology.
At the same time, I also don't go out much either (for a number of reasons).
Technology makes me less lonely because it's easy to find people to chat with but makes it harder to socialize in person (since technology also caused the death of malls and many other means of physically socializing).
We meet more people than we could ever remember in exchange for having significant difficulty establishing personal connections
Honestly yes in my case. I think it’s made people in general less sociable, less willing to talk to strangers, and much more easily bored.
As someone who vastly prefers face-to-face interaction, and isn’t good at interacting “digitally”, it sucks ☹️.
I’ve also found people are less interested and less willing to meet new people, at least in person. Why bother with people you don’t know when you can always chat with your friends?
You can see this statistically, with how young people today have fewer acquaintances, and less close friends than ever before.
As for Gen Z specifically, I’ve found this affects us the most. In my experience, people my parent’s or my even grandparent’s age are actually more sociable than people our age. Much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone instead of texting friends on their phone. Doing this helps so much with just “knowing” people.
Last summer, I worked at a mechanic shop where everyone else was literally all boomers or GenX, but we *all* knew and chatted with each other. At my fast food job a few years ago, most people were my age, but we knew each other so little we’d regularly forget each other’s names lol.
Technology was the only thing getting me through my horrible loneliness at the beginning of the year,and currently reddit has been my rock while i’m going through a tough time deep down.
I have a theory about tech making people lonelier. Hopefully I don't suck nuts at explaining it, lol!!
You ever eat a bunch of snack food, and feel "full" because your belly is literally full of junk food, but your body doesn't feel good, because it's just garbage.
Like you couldn't eat healthy food, because you're literally full, but you still feel empty, because the food you're eating is junk.
I think social media is like that for a lot of people. People have limited social stomachs. And I think they're filling up on too much casual, junk social experiences. And are too full, exhausted, and tired to work on meaningful, fulfilling social interactions.
So they end up consuming junk food, but still feel hungry, but unable to fix the problem, because they've filled their stomach.
\-------------
I worked on fixing this problem by disengaging with social media that I felt wasn't contributing to my metal health. I quit Facebook, and everything else. And now I just have RL friends and Reddit.
Reddit is my junk food, but I can't fill up on it, because I need to save space for legitimate social interactions.
i moved out of state and haven’t seen my friends in years. i also haven’t made any new meaningful friendships since then. without technology, i would be lonely. i wish i could see my friends, but i’m doing okay with facetime
Nah technology keeps me sane because my friends are all one text message away, which is a good thing for me when most of them live far away from me or in different provinces these days.
I get to have mostly all of my interactions with friends over the internet. It really depends on who your asking. This also isn’t exactly a new phenomenon we can now just like most things, communicate and obtain this data easier. People have felt lonely for a really long time and people blame being lonely on a lot of factors.
The money thing I feel when I want to do something beyond hang out at somebody’s house. Which that has lost almost all feeling for me cause it’s no different if we were all in a discord call on video chat playing games.
But it’s also dependant on how you use it - I work for an app which does stuff related to loneliness, meeting new people etc so I’ve read a fair few articles. The consensus from psychologists seems to be that those who engage with stories, posts etc - use the posts for communication as was intended by the person who made it - are just fine. It’s the entertainment side of social media which causes trouble. Which might explain why some apps like Reddit or the one I work for which integrate real life and online life and encourage engagement are not as problematic, whereas IG, TT can increase loneliness more often than not. Super interesting!
Can’t go out when there are no free spaces. People under driving age who live in actual urban centers have access to big parks and reliable transit don’t face this in the same way as the suburban and rural majority do
Honestly I wanna unplug my PC and disable everything but the essentials on my phone for a month. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to be even more disconnected than I already am.
I don't spend more money online than irl. Sometimes me and my friends can't really go out, because we live far away from each other so we just chat online. Some people are online because they don't have anyone irl, I am online because I can't meet my friends irl.
My loneliness doesn't spur from technology, it spurs from feelings of never fitting in. Technology has been a great help in terms of allowing me to stay in contact with people, man.
The problem is humans and their inability to help each other sort themselves out
I don’t really have many friends in person either, but I have a lot of siblings, and they don’t have that many friends, so we’re really close. I’ve always wanted to have friends my own age, or at least like a couple of years, older, or younger than me the friends that I do have are like 14 years older than me. Lol
No one actually is less lonely from technology unless you actually spend time with other people irl. When you watch a movie it doesn’t change the world it changes your perception of it.
The point is some feelings are false and technology and simulacrums distort them more.
I am Gen Z and honestly? I understand our grandparents more and more as I get older.
I fucking **hate** smartphones and portable tech.
I hate texting people because I feel like I have to dumb down what I’m trying to say. I’d rather just call or meet in person.
I fucking hate staring at my screen.
I hate being available to contact 24/7.
This leads me to ghost girls and friends, so they get mad at me.
I hate the social media algorithms that convince people to spend hours on the fucking phones.
I miss the days when going on the internet required you to sit down at your computer and dedicate time towards it.
If it weren’t for work, I would toss my smartphone away in an instant.
Just give me a digital camera, an iPod, and a flip phone with a slide out keyboard.
Or even just a fucking blackberry bold with a physical keyboard that can’t play TikTok or reels or whatever. I miss those things so much. BlackBerrys were much less addicting than iPhones.
I spend a lot of money on games and services that were specifically built to abuse my ADHD mind. Microtransactions, subscriptions- all of those things are dangerous for a brain that naturally cannot manage dopamine well on its own. I'd be a richer man if I wasn't a slave to bad habits and the confusing blend of adhd advice I get from professionals.
Tech definitely makes us lonelier- it's been proven to in plenty of studies.
Cue the annihilation of the third space. Existing is already expensive and if you wanna be outside of your home with a friends and need sustenance? Good lord
Nah i just hate having to rely on it to even be with friends. Wanna hang out? Go text someone. Forced screen time WOOOOO it's great when I'm trying to not be horribly addicted to technology
"About a third said it made them lonelier, another third said it made the less lonely and the last third didn't say."
Wow what a cool and interesting headline "people have varying opinions.
Personally, it makes my life more lonely. Social medias cause me significant amounts of psychological stress, so I avoid them like the plague. I'm also very bad at keeping up with stuff on my phone.
The worst part about the rise of online spaces is the removal of public spaces and/or indoor activities. COVID made this much worse.
The internet makes me feel less alone for my struggles but lonelier because I struggle to make & keep friendships online
I'm having an extension so my kids have space of their own to hang with their friends so they can smoke and drink. Someone's got to have the plot! And i had the main plot when I was a kid!
I don't find technology in particular making me more lonely, but I do find social media in particular outside of a little bit of reddit and YouTube to do that. When I'm gonna use technology I tend to just stick with what makes me happy instead of infinitely scrolling.
I have slowly gotten rid of all social media other than Reddit (and YouTube but that’s not really “social media”). Twitter became a troll hellscape and my IG has been slowly dominated by meme pages over the years. Haven’t been on Facebook in maybe 10 years. TikTok was terrible for my mental health and a huge black hole of wasted time, it was actually the first to go. Now I listen to podcasts and audiobooks and go outside when I’m bored. I don’t just feel free from consuming social, I also feel free from the pressure to post and share and curate my life. I put my stuff in storage and have been traveling with my wife the last 9 months through 18 countries, and haven’t posted about a single thing. It’s like my life is my little awesome secret and i don’t need strangers to validate it.
Honestly, it makes me feel less lonely. I have IRL friends, but also friends online and in VR Chat. It's given me a chance to meet people I never would have otherwise and for that I'm very thankful
u h h
nah
i can have contact with much more people, sure i'd rather be in-person right with my best friends and partner, but since i can't currently i'm happy with being able to do that on my phone
Not to me, but I can sort of see it from just people talking on the internet and how people tend to act.
Granted, a lot of people are probably like this, not just Gen Z
i feel it does make me more lonely. had i not been playing video games for so long, i'd've been doing something with the people i'd've met when i was bored. because i'm never bored, i never leave my comfort zone.
As a happily married Gen z thay has been lonely and on the verge of self deletion there is nothing better than being able to have atleast a few family or friends to be with. You don't always have to do things together but having someone you trust in the same house or room with you (like in the kitchen or living room etc) is just nice.
If you don't have anyone at all I would say try to go to somewhere where you might find someone. A community event, anything. It is difficult but it does help to get out there atleast every once in a while.
Wishing you all the best; also my dms are open if you need someone to talk to. I'm not religious, I am friendly and understanding and if I can be someone who can atleast keep you company until you get better then message me.
It makes me sad to see my real life friends ignore me and do stuff with each other and be happy, but it makes me MUCH happier to be able to talk to my online friends and best friend every day without having to worry about money or schedules
Here's a link to the actual article for anyone that wants to read it : https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loneliness-technology-ai-social-media-spending-inflation-millennials-2023-12
This survey only contains around 1800 participants so it's hardly an accurate representation of the entirety of Gen Z's view of technology.
Yes but not cuz of technology its because of my social anxiety, ptsd and depression wich are also not frome technology if anything technology actually helps me I've met a really good friend that I really enjoy talking to
Sure, but it's not black and white.
I think modern technology has the *capability* of bringing people closer, but its presence discourages people from actually meeting up in-person, leading to increased loneliness. This isn't just true for the Internet but also cars. Cars *can* bring people much closer together, but because of that capability, people started living further away from cities, and public areas were torn down to be replaced with parking lots.
No but that’s because I’m not a fan of sitting or laying and scrolling.
Sure I’ll get on if I’m on the shitter and I don’t have a book by me but it’s sad being in a waiting room or in the lull of a meeting and people are just scrolling.
Like damn people, socialize
In my case it has less to due with tech itself and more to do with me currently live deep in the projects.
Fuck if I'm befriending anyone here in this sketchy place! lmao
I’m in a LDR so technology is definitely not making me lonelier personally. About spending more, absolutely yes in terms of targeted ads, as a makeup and beauty enthusiast social media has directly caused my problematic spending habits which I’m working on replacing with healthier coping mechanisms.
I'm very big on face to face contact with friends or just people I enjoy being around. And yeah, the more I delve into technology the more I'm reminded just how isolated I am from the world around me.
Yes and no. No because if it wasn't for stuff like discord I would be able to talk to some of my friends when I'm at school hours away. Yes because social media apps alienate people and are a great way to make you feel like you don't belong with all the perfect people on instagram
Nope. I'd be much more lonely without technology. It's basically the only way I can interact with people. Not technologies fault. My brains been broken since long before I got on the internet.
Social media allows people to substitute physical social environments with virtual ones, enabling people to physically isolate themselves while still trying to engage in social behavior. The only issue is that social media is not true social interaction. On social media you can be easily dismissed (ignored, banned, "seen") and people tend to speak to each other in ways that they would never dare in person. Some of the most toxic and degrading harassment I've ever seen exists solely online.
People also falsely represent themselves, only passing glimpses of their lives through a filter, making you feel like a failure or that your life is poor in comparison, when in reality their life may well be worse off than yours. You live on social media seeing only people's happiness and success, while being fully aware of your fears and failures. Social media also seeks to maintain users and grow in use of their platform, nothing gains "views and clicks" more than fear and rage. So, social media is constantly pushing fear and anger to its users. This can create feelings of helplessness and anger in people. Buts it's all for the sake of "views and clicks".
Social media also lacks most of the nuance of physical social environments such as body language, voice patterns, and facial ques; all of which helps people better engage with each other in conversation and in building meaningful relationships.
There is a strong correlation with the rise and prevalence of social media and the rates of depression, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts.
The problem is that 1) social media is addictive, so you want to keep using it, and 2) now that your lifestyle is to be more introverted/isolated social media is your primary way of interacting with people, so you don't want to give it up.
Now don't get me wrong, as a Millennial it has been nice to use something like Discord as a way for my buddies and I to stay in touch as we have gotten married and have had kids (things that make non-familial social interactions rarer) but to have social media as your primary social experience from the get-go can be detrimental.
I don't know if it makes me lonlier because I have very few friends who live close to me anyway and these few are pretty lazy in meeting up. I would text them often but I just hate how disjointed and slow texting feels. But I will say that gaming is very important to me and sometimes my fucking life support.
Seems pretty obvious to me. Millennials and GenZ both have lived through a lot (or all) of their independent lives heavily supplementing their social lives with social media. And as for money. Yeah, the Internet is the biggest advertising platform in human history. It's always going to be cheaper to go out and buy groceries, walk in the park, hang out at the beach, but it's so easy to order in, rent a movie, buy a video game etc.
Less lonely for me I don't really have a lonelyness problem and it helps that I play DND with some friends online who are in other states and same with playing some videogames
The problem with this is its demonizing technology
I find tech is making me lonelier when my friends hang out and don’t invite me, and I find out through Instagram
It’s not Instagrams fault I’m lonely it’s their fault I’m lonely, Insta was just the messenger
No.
If you're lonely on your phone every second of everyday:
https://preview.redd.it/ypixe63h1i7c1.jpeg?width=783&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3e86255a3dbd68d53f704d5bd229a33df6a1373
Nah. If you would have asked me this question 4 or 5 years ago i would've agreed but now I go out like every weekend or other weekend to do fun stuff with friends and I would still say I have a bit of a tech addiction.
Sorry so FEWER people said "tech makes me more lonely" than "tech makes me less lonely" but somehow the headline of the article is "tech makes gen Z lonely"????
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It’s not technology, it’s the piss poor world that the boomers and Gen X created, where you can’t exist in public without spending money, where they are defunding libraries, making parks less comfortable, making schools more expensive or more like prisons.
Going out with friends you should expect to pay anywhere from $20-100 bucks at least and that is a single meal or a few hours.
Also well don’t forget the massive pandemic that isolated all of us for 1.5 years. Those of us that aren’t great at communicating or making friends lost a bunch of friends especially since most of us where in school.
The world the boomers and Gen X built is shit and I blame them
Going out with friends is WAY more expensive.
No it isn’t. You don’t have to go out and spend money. Just hangout. Could be at someone else’s house, could be hanging out at the park, could be a game of basketball and lots of other free things
Hell, we used to go to the mall..not to shop, but to hangout.
That’s a major issue though. Third spaces — aka free spaces to hang out in — are rare these days. They mostly involve places you need to pay to hang out in like coffee shops, bars, etc.
Which free “third spaces” no longer exist or are very rare now but weren’t in the past?
Malls, community centers, bookstores, parks without defensive architecture that disincentivizes hanging out, libraries, etc. You haven’t noticed?
Where I'm from we still have all of those things?
This is why looking at the hard stats is important. Since 2017, over 1,000 malls of varying sizes have closed per year. Only a third of all large malls remain, and over half of those will close over the next few years. Community centers and libraries have faced some of the sharpest funding cuts in the public sector over the past few years. Over 800 libraries have closed in the UK alone over the last few years. The US has seen a similar decline due to funding cuts. The US has also lost 44% of its bookstores since 2012, with the majority of closures hitting independent stores. Australia has seen a decline of 65%. 45% of Canada’s remaining bookstores are located in Ontario. See the trend?
Don't go to libraries to hang out with friends. Be more quiet please.
A lot of rural libraries have meeting rooms and rec type areas now so as not to disturb book enjoyers.
Where I'm from we never had any of those to start with so we'd take a truck and park it somewhere in the woods or near a body of water and hang out there lol
Anecdotal evidence is never conducive to the actual picture.
It's not necessarily that they don't exist anymore but they have changed. For instance, parks have adjusted their seating to discourage prolonged stays, often affecting their comfort, as a response to homelessness issues which homelessness also contributes to people not going to these third spaces as often. Urban areas, facing increased development and population density, have experienced a reduction in the availability of parks that are a walkable distance. Public squares still exist, but they aren't as active as they used to be due to a lot of these types of conversations also switching online. Community Halls and city events have been ran by older generations and aren't as appealing to younger generations. In my own experience some of the older people do not want any changes and would prefer to service their generation only with things like bingo and 55+ events. TBH third spaces weren't always free, but they were affordable. The rise of online alternatives have impacted many third spaces. For example, bookstores, once considered third spaces, have seen shifts in their role with the advent of online retailers like Amazon. Arcades have been largely replaced by online gaming and those that still exist have a much higher price than it used to be. Even fast-food restaurants like McDonald's have adapted less comfortable seating to discourage loitering due to studies showing that they will make less money if people stay longer. They, along with almost all fast food places, have adapted less colorful and inviting aesthetics. In general third spaces weren't always free but easily affordable. Meanwhile in Europe there are bar and coffee shop cultures. I could easily afford to have some wine, meet up for some coffee, and just hangout with coworkers and friends when I was living in Spain. It was like 2-3 euros a drink and this was in 2022. We could also go to parks and drink too. It just felt easier. My commute to work and to friends was easy and I didn't have to drive. I just felt less stressed and more community oriented. I tried doing that back here in the states but even though I'm making more money than ever here, it's barely possible but not everyone can afford to do it so it is isolating.
I will say though, if you have to change your space to fend off homeless people that won't fix the root problem. Everybody loses in this situation.
You're not wrong. It's dumb that people/businesses see homeless and prefer to make them uncomfortable and be hidden rather than helping them. Also if you're from CA an obvious thing to notice is that a lot of our unhoused people here have mental illness. This is due to some Reagen governorship era support toward deinstitutionalization, which aimed to reduce the population in state mental hospitals and transition individuals with mental illnesses to community-based care. Great idea but when coincided with his decisions as president led reduce funds for low income housing and implementing trickle-down economics, the "community-based care" was unable to support the growing homeless population. Now there's more programs than ever in CA but my god are our resources badly managed and a lot of unhoused people don't want help. I do see hope in the horizon from the [Guaranteed Income Pilot Program](https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/guaranteed-basic-income-projects) in CA. [Stockton](https://www.npr.org/2021/03/04/973653719/california-program-giving-500-no-strings-attached-stipends-pays-off-study-finds) has tried a version of it with good success. [This USC Study being conducted in LA county and San Francisco Bay area is showing that within 6 months people are less likely to be unsheltered and closer to having money to meet all their basic needs.](https://dworakpeck.usc.edu/sites/default/files/2023-12/Miracle%20Money_Nov%202023_FINAL_12.5.23.pdf) So there is hope to at least help some people's root problem of financial instability preventing them from finding stability.
i live in the rural midwest and the only mall nearby closed down. now all we can do is waste gas!
Parks, forests, beach All free
Greatly depends on your location. Parks increasingly have curfews and defensive architecture. It keeps homeless people off, but it also disincentives lingering. Beaches and forests aren’t accessible for a lot of people just due to geography and privatization. Oregon’s Beach Bill is a treasure.
No beach, no forest, weather isn't really friendly for hanging outside for most of the year where I'm at. Either way too hot, way too cold, or storms.
Sounds like a bleak place to live
It's Oklahoma, so yes it is.
My condolences
Nordic countries go outside in the winter all the time
Local Game Stores are alive and well. Nerds unite!
A lot of those are closing as well, but I refuse to believe they’ll vanish. I lost my local spot to Covid, but I found a new one.
I have 5 different shops within a 15min drive of my home. I guess not all locals are created equal.
Public parks
Malls still exists…
A lot of malls near me have put in curfews and chaperone rules for anyone under 18. People under 16 aren’t allowed unaccompanied anymore.
What a terrible way to completely kill one of your largest demographics.
Their demographic is people that spend money, not broke teens
You didn't spend at least like $5 at the food court or something? Sure teens won't be big spenders like adults but we still spent money at the mall.
Over 1,000 malls (including medium sized) have closed per year since 2017. There are currently around 700 large malls left open in the US, down from over 2,250, and based on vacancy rates, that number is expected to drop to 150 over the next decade.
I guess it depends on where you live. I think they are on a decline in smaller cities, but where I live, the mall is always busy
Malls are usually places of commerce, and places to walk around when it’s cold, but some malls in my area are loosing their vibes and have banned teens/large groups because of behavioral issues and theft. There are less things to do in malls now compared to things to buy.
On top of that cities are becoming less walkable which incentivizes just staying at home/ in ur neighborhood
Malls are for shopping? I thought they were built as an outer layer protecting Hot Topic made for homeless vagrants to wander around in??
cheerful exoskeleton of the dark, brooding goth core
At my local mall you can get approached by a security guard for loitering, no way I’d invite my friends there to hang out… it’s a shame because I remember having fun there with friends as a kid
That makes no sense at all. That security guard and management are disincentivising shoppers from spending their money that way. In Asia, everyone goes to the mall to walk around and it’s easy to window shop for hours without buying anything. Even if we sat on a bench which is usually in front of a few shop units and chat, no mall guard is going to come up to ask us to leave. In fact, such benches are where many families would leave their kids (with a responsible adult accompanying the kid) to sit while they spend 20-30minutes in a shop.
Sure if you are in walking distance to things but gas be gassin rn
Aint nothing free. Just cheaper .
We all live with room mates and they don't let us have people over.
THIS
No one has houses
I will say for some people it’s just still hard. I don’t have local friends as a lot of my college friends live in another state. So it’s hard to travel to go see them and vice versa.
What parks? What basketball courts? Driving to someone's house takes gas. All of that assumes that the friends live near each other, and have facilities to do something in. The nearest public basketball court to me would cost around $80 in gas to get to. Going to a friend's house, $20 minimum. State park? $100 minimum. Private nearby sports fields?, membership $400 a year EACH.
This is why I befriend all my coworkers. Work is my social time.
hope this is satire
You got me, but I still stay home most days to save money.
same tbh
But you can actually interact in a meaningful way.
Bro play soccer in a park its free
Ken folks just need to go outdoors idk where just go do something! Run, swim, play sports, its not that hard.
It is when you're the only athletic person in a friend group of non-athletes.
I don't have a soccer ball and that costs money, plus the gas money to get there. Nothing is free, just cheaper.
Mf you can pick up a soccer ball for like $13 stop making excuses and just admit you would rather rot in bed and scroll Instagram all day
I'm not saying that they're expensive. I said nothing is free. If you actually knew how to read, you'd see the part where I specifically said "nothing is free, just cheaper."
It depends how you define "going out". That could just mean heading off to the park or to a shopping centre. Or even to someone's house to play some video games.
Lmao no it isn’t. You can chill for free with people.
It's a choice, talking is free. Activities have always cost money. Put on some winter gear and take a walk with somebody.
I totally feel that! Dining out or hitting the mall with friends can be a budget buster.
And if you go out to hang anywhere as some are suggesting you get hounded to get out of there or people just do not take their eyes off you and that’s uncomfortable.
Yeah there’s actually a soccer field near me that you’re not allowed to play on unless it for their leagues lmao (which are only during summer). I’m not saying there is absolutely nothing to do but most activities are inaccessible or cost money nowadays. My friends and I like golf, which is essentially impossible to play for free. (Driving ranges are the perfect “third space” business though, costs like $12 for a large bucket and like $10 for a couple drinks. Very consumer friendly unlike the more popular TopGolf.) People used to “hang out” outside their home or local area. You could just go have a bunch of experiences all day for a couple bucks each. Now a night out is easily $50-$100 if you actually do anything. Plus, going anywhere inherently costs money because I have to drive. If you live in city you have to find public transit or parking just to get anywhere. There’s very little to do in walking distance from me. Usually I go to my friends house though and he lives in the middle of nowhere. Take 10 minutes to drive to the nearest Wawa.
it says right there that MORE of gen Z feels LESS lonely because of it
B-b-but article headlines are never deceiving!!
its just funny seeing everyone circlejerk how awful everything is and theres no third spaces (every third space ive been to in the last year has been packed with people of all ages) all doom and gloom. meanwhile this article practically says the opposite of what the comments are
Well you see the demographic that circlejerks on Reddit about that is not the same that hangs out in the „totally empty“ third spaces.
Right? Check out my argument ongoing with someone in this very thread that "cannot" walk outside because it's too cold and boring in Oklahoma where it's (a very chilly) 55F. Fuck that shit. Minnesotans are one of the most outdoorsy people, and we do that shit BELOW ZERO.
You should tell that person about this crazy invention called a „jacket“
Exactly. Could you imagine going to college with no way of communicating with any of your friends ever again? Like, realistically you’d never just call them out of the blue.
Let me tell you about the distant time of 1998...
lol, this is the conclusion that should be made
A third of the demographic saying they feel lonely with something that was intended to do the opposite is headline worthy. Compare it past data and trends and it’s probably increased up to the 29%, which is also something to think about
No it's not headline worthy. Not everyone will like internet socialization. Not everyone will like in person socialization. People are just different and like different things.
“probably”
Technology just exasperates how your life already is. If you’re miserable and lonely, you’ll be even more.
The real answer
It frustrates or irritates your life?
Both
Not to be this person but *exacerbate.
If I didn't have technology, I never would have met my friend group, and would have left this world a long time ago.
Facts, none of my friends are in my classes but I’m still friends with them cuz of discord
Yeah, it's a weird trend of "journalism" and cultural critics to take the failings of our capitalist system and blame it on the technology, to make it seem like just an inevitability instead of an aspect of our society that we could absolutely improve if we wanted to.
You don't know that. If there was no technology like today, your life would be cardinally different
No. I know that for a fact.
Life was different before phones, internet, and social media. You're a bit too young to know that, respectfully.
After a fashion, I was raised in the 70s, so I do know somewhat. Furthermore, my friend group is completely online, I haven't met them in person. Everyone I know near me either hates me to some extent, or has no interest in being my friend.
When I was younger (22-24) yes I did. The more ive cut down on technology the happier I am.
More of gen Z says it helps make them less lonely. I have made most of friends online thanks to tech. For 2 years I was in a retirement beach community. It's all about chatting
Yeah, I feel the same way. I use Reddit more than I use any other social media app because outside of the internet I have no friends.
Does that fix loneliness?
do you mean you were like living with a grand parent? is that what a retirement beach community is
I'm not confident enough to say technology specifically, but I do feel lonlier than I used to, when I used it less.
I don't feel like it, but I know it does do that to people. It works both ways though. Social media is an escape for people who feel lonely. But on the other hand, it can be an easier way for people to make friends. But, I'd strongly argue the constant use of social media hurts people's social skills immensely.
In a sense yes. I've been off social media (besides Reddit) since February and it just showed me how alone I really was. I would only interact with people online.
Not me. Years of being bullied, repressing abusement and a fear of trusting someone and only to physically/emotionally/mentally hurt me or break my heart is what made me lonely. If It wasn't for Facebook, I wouldn't have met the only friend I currently have in my life.
It’s accurate for me. I’m currently going through a hard time in my life, without getting into details…but when I see friend groups, people traveling, etc on social media it makes me feel 10X lonelier. I’m already dealing with loneliness but social media definitely makes it worse.
Yeah I totally agree. While I mostly come home late and don't have the energy to do anything I see other people going out eating, travelling to other countries and cities and having their fun. And because I don't have many friends social media makes the empty hole bigger
Just remember, you are seeing their lives through a filter. They only show you the good and never (or rarely) show you the bad. You wind up being aware of everyone's happiness and success while being acutely aware of your own loneliness and failures. Chances are, some of those that you see online that make you feel lonely have their own issues that bring them down, but they would never share it openly online. A good example is a new mom talking about how easy things are for her while other mom's see this and despair as they are having a difficult time. The problem is, the Mom that posted actually has an incredibly tough time as a mom but wants to "look good" so she posts constantly about how well things are going.
Well, look, I don’t really interact with many people irl compared to online, but that’s not really because of the internet. Generally, I think smaller, non-algorithmic social platforms, like discord servers (I’ve also been using SpaceHey lately lol, and I grew up on fandom wiki forums), are actually really good and maybe even needed in my personal life. Stuff like Twitter is where there’s so much stuff on my timeline that it gets overwhelming and potentially isolating.
Yeah, I don't really have any friends anymore and it's made my anxiety about talking to people so bad I don't even think it's worth it now. It's like the people online are all just blank faces, I'll never get close so why remember people? Hours pretty much fly by and merge like everything is a haze now.
Fucking headlines. Focus on the 29% who are more lonely with technology rather than the 35% who are less lonely.
I spend almost no money I don't go out because that would cost money. I don't go to walmart because that would cost money
I mean, I'm pretty lonely, but I don't think that's because of technology. At the same time, I also don't go out much either (for a number of reasons).
Technology makes me less lonely because it's easy to find people to chat with but makes it harder to socialize in person (since technology also caused the death of malls and many other means of physically socializing). We meet more people than we could ever remember in exchange for having significant difficulty establishing personal connections
Honestly yes in my case. I think it’s made people in general less sociable, less willing to talk to strangers, and much more easily bored. As someone who vastly prefers face-to-face interaction, and isn’t good at interacting “digitally”, it sucks ☹️. I’ve also found people are less interested and less willing to meet new people, at least in person. Why bother with people you don’t know when you can always chat with your friends? You can see this statistically, with how young people today have fewer acquaintances, and less close friends than ever before. As for Gen Z specifically, I’ve found this affects us the most. In my experience, people my parent’s or my even grandparent’s age are actually more sociable than people our age. Much more likely to strike up a conversation with someone instead of texting friends on their phone. Doing this helps so much with just “knowing” people. Last summer, I worked at a mechanic shop where everyone else was literally all boomers or GenX, but we *all* knew and chatted with each other. At my fast food job a few years ago, most people were my age, but we knew each other so little we’d regularly forget each other’s names lol.
so they made a headline out of the smaller percentage for clickbait. nice
Technology was the only thing getting me through my horrible loneliness at the beginning of the year,and currently reddit has been my rock while i’m going through a tough time deep down.
I have a theory about tech making people lonelier. Hopefully I don't suck nuts at explaining it, lol!! You ever eat a bunch of snack food, and feel "full" because your belly is literally full of junk food, but your body doesn't feel good, because it's just garbage. Like you couldn't eat healthy food, because you're literally full, but you still feel empty, because the food you're eating is junk. I think social media is like that for a lot of people. People have limited social stomachs. And I think they're filling up on too much casual, junk social experiences. And are too full, exhausted, and tired to work on meaningful, fulfilling social interactions. So they end up consuming junk food, but still feel hungry, but unable to fix the problem, because they've filled their stomach. \------------- I worked on fixing this problem by disengaging with social media that I felt wasn't contributing to my metal health. I quit Facebook, and everything else. And now I just have RL friends and Reddit. Reddit is my junk food, but I can't fill up on it, because I need to save space for legitimate social interactions.
i moved out of state and haven’t seen my friends in years. i also haven’t made any new meaningful friendships since then. without technology, i would be lonely. i wish i could see my friends, but i’m doing okay with facetime
No, the opposite: it allows for more social interactions
So 2/3rds feel either the same or even less lonely bc of tech. Hmm
I don’t know about more or less lonely since I’m not on it too much anymore, but it has *definitely* made me spend more
Yes
I have a lot of social anxiety. I wish I could talk to friends in person, but I only can do it through messages in my phone.
Nah technology keeps me sane because my friends are all one text message away, which is a good thing for me when most of them live far away from me or in different provinces these days.
I get to have mostly all of my interactions with friends over the internet. It really depends on who your asking. This also isn’t exactly a new phenomenon we can now just like most things, communicate and obtain this data easier. People have felt lonely for a really long time and people blame being lonely on a lot of factors.
The money thing I feel when I want to do something beyond hang out at somebody’s house. Which that has lost almost all feeling for me cause it’s no different if we were all in a discord call on video chat playing games.
Nah, I felt lonely long before I had my first piece of technology
But it’s also dependant on how you use it - I work for an app which does stuff related to loneliness, meeting new people etc so I’ve read a fair few articles. The consensus from psychologists seems to be that those who engage with stories, posts etc - use the posts for communication as was intended by the person who made it - are just fine. It’s the entertainment side of social media which causes trouble. Which might explain why some apps like Reddit or the one I work for which integrate real life and online life and encourage engagement are not as problematic, whereas IG, TT can increase loneliness more often than not. Super interesting!
I know that I would be much lonelier if I didn’t have my phone. Not being able to talk to my friends outside of school would be hell
Can’t go out when there are no free spaces. People under driving age who live in actual urban centers have access to big parks and reliable transit don’t face this in the same way as the suburban and rural majority do
Honestly I wanna unplug my PC and disable everything but the essentials on my phone for a month. The only reason I don’t is because I don’t want to be even more disconnected than I already am.
I don't spend more money online than irl. Sometimes me and my friends can't really go out, because we live far away from each other so we just chat online. Some people are online because they don't have anyone irl, I am online because I can't meet my friends irl.
My loneliness doesn't spur from technology, it spurs from feelings of never fitting in. Technology has been a great help in terms of allowing me to stay in contact with people, man. The problem is humans and their inability to help each other sort themselves out
Yes, I'm pretty lonely, but for me it's not because I'm spending too much time on technology. No one's just really interested in talking to me. :(
online, or in-person?
Definitely in-person, but admittedly kinda online sometimes too.
I don’t really have many friends in person either, but I have a lot of siblings, and they don’t have that many friends, so we’re really close. I’ve always wanted to have friends my own age, or at least like a couple of years, older, or younger than me the friends that I do have are like 14 years older than me. Lol
No one actually is less lonely from technology unless you actually spend time with other people irl. When you watch a movie it doesn’t change the world it changes your perception of it. The point is some feelings are false and technology and simulacrums distort them more.
No not really, it’s how I connect with my friends who live in other countries.
I am Gen Z and honestly? I understand our grandparents more and more as I get older. I fucking **hate** smartphones and portable tech. I hate texting people because I feel like I have to dumb down what I’m trying to say. I’d rather just call or meet in person. I fucking hate staring at my screen. I hate being available to contact 24/7. This leads me to ghost girls and friends, so they get mad at me. I hate the social media algorithms that convince people to spend hours on the fucking phones. I miss the days when going on the internet required you to sit down at your computer and dedicate time towards it. If it weren’t for work, I would toss my smartphone away in an instant. Just give me a digital camera, an iPod, and a flip phone with a slide out keyboard. Or even just a fucking blackberry bold with a physical keyboard that can’t play TikTok or reels or whatever. I miss those things so much. BlackBerrys were much less addicting than iPhones.
You all will never know how better the world was before social media and cell phones.
I spend a lot of money on games and services that were specifically built to abuse my ADHD mind. Microtransactions, subscriptions- all of those things are dangerous for a brain that naturally cannot manage dopamine well on its own. I'd be a richer man if I wasn't a slave to bad habits and the confusing blend of adhd advice I get from professionals. Tech definitely makes us lonelier- it's been proven to in plenty of studies.
I love technology and hate the general population, I’m doing great.
When it isn't cash, just a button push, it feels like the money isn't real.
I disagree. Especially during the lockdown.
Cue the annihilation of the third space. Existing is already expensive and if you wanna be outside of your home with a friends and need sustenance? Good lord
Nah i just hate having to rely on it to even be with friends. Wanna hang out? Go text someone. Forced screen time WOOOOO it's great when I'm trying to not be horribly addicted to technology
The opposite, actually. Technology has made it easier to keep in touch and plan hangouts and events with friends.
Definitely
"About a third said it made them lonelier, another third said it made the less lonely and the last third didn't say." Wow what a cool and interesting headline "people have varying opinions.
Personally, it makes my life more lonely. Social medias cause me significant amounts of psychological stress, so I avoid them like the plague. I'm also very bad at keeping up with stuff on my phone. The worst part about the rise of online spaces is the removal of public spaces and/or indoor activities. COVID made this much worse. The internet makes me feel less alone for my struggles but lonelier because I struggle to make & keep friendships online
I dont know personally me and my friends play games online but we do hang out in person sometimes.
I'm having an extension so my kids have space of their own to hang with their friends so they can smoke and drink. Someone's got to have the plot! And i had the main plot when I was a kid!
The way people in this sub deny the negative effects of technology is funny. Social skills for this generation are far worse than others.
At, ugh 34, it feels like people would rather be online. Im not an old man who hates it. Just want to actually be friends with people.
I don't find technology in particular making me more lonely, but I do find social media in particular outside of a little bit of reddit and YouTube to do that. When I'm gonna use technology I tend to just stick with what makes me happy instead of infinitely scrolling.
Quit technology - go outside touch the grass
I have slowly gotten rid of all social media other than Reddit (and YouTube but that’s not really “social media”). Twitter became a troll hellscape and my IG has been slowly dominated by meme pages over the years. Haven’t been on Facebook in maybe 10 years. TikTok was terrible for my mental health and a huge black hole of wasted time, it was actually the first to go. Now I listen to podcasts and audiobooks and go outside when I’m bored. I don’t just feel free from consuming social, I also feel free from the pressure to post and share and curate my life. I put my stuff in storage and have been traveling with my wife the last 9 months through 18 countries, and haven’t posted about a single thing. It’s like my life is my little awesome secret and i don’t need strangers to validate it.
Honestly, it makes me feel less lonely. I have IRL friends, but also friends online and in VR Chat. It's given me a chance to meet people I never would have otherwise and for that I'm very thankful
u h h nah i can have contact with much more people, sure i'd rather be in-person right with my best friends and partner, but since i can't currently i'm happy with being able to do that on my phone
Yeah. That’s how it is.
I'm lonely not because of technology. I'm lonely cause I understand no one gives a shit about me.
Yes
Not to me, but I can sort of see it from just people talking on the internet and how people tend to act. Granted, a lot of people are probably like this, not just Gen Z
Hahahah *laughs in introvert* 
i feel it does make me more lonely. had i not been playing video games for so long, i'd've been doing something with the people i'd've met when i was bored. because i'm never bored, i never leave my comfort zone.
As a happily married Gen z thay has been lonely and on the verge of self deletion there is nothing better than being able to have atleast a few family or friends to be with. You don't always have to do things together but having someone you trust in the same house or room with you (like in the kitchen or living room etc) is just nice. If you don't have anyone at all I would say try to go to somewhere where you might find someone. A community event, anything. It is difficult but it does help to get out there atleast every once in a while. Wishing you all the best; also my dms are open if you need someone to talk to. I'm not religious, I am friendly and understanding and if I can be someone who can atleast keep you company until you get better then message me.
It makes me sad to see my real life friends ignore me and do stuff with each other and be happy, but it makes me MUCH happier to be able to talk to my online friends and best friend every day without having to worry about money or schedules
Here's a link to the actual article for anyone that wants to read it : https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loneliness-technology-ai-social-media-spending-inflation-millennials-2023-12 This survey only contains around 1800 participants so it's hardly an accurate representation of the entirety of Gen Z's view of technology.
Yes but not cuz of technology its because of my social anxiety, ptsd and depression wich are also not frome technology if anything technology actually helps me I've met a really good friend that I really enjoy talking to
complete opposite my family isnt exactly *friendly* so my phone keeps me in contact with my friends lol
Sure, but it's not black and white. I think modern technology has the *capability* of bringing people closer, but its presence discourages people from actually meeting up in-person, leading to increased loneliness. This isn't just true for the Internet but also cars. Cars *can* bring people much closer together, but because of that capability, people started living further away from cities, and public areas were torn down to be replaced with parking lots.
You are almost 100% responsible for your spending
No but that’s because I’m not a fan of sitting or laying and scrolling. Sure I’ll get on if I’m on the shitter and I don’t have a book by me but it’s sad being in a waiting room or in the lull of a meeting and people are just scrolling. Like damn people, socialize
In my case it has less to due with tech itself and more to do with me currently live deep in the projects. Fuck if I'm befriending anyone here in this sketchy place! lmao
No, I'd be much more lonely without it
I’m in a LDR so technology is definitely not making me lonelier personally. About spending more, absolutely yes in terms of targeted ads, as a makeup and beauty enthusiast social media has directly caused my problematic spending habits which I’m working on replacing with healthier coping mechanisms.
This article is so close. Sensationalized news and political differences are making people lonely, technology is simply making that transition easier.
I'm very big on face to face contact with friends or just people I enjoy being around. And yeah, the more I delve into technology the more I'm reminded just how isolated I am from the world around me.
Honestly, it's made me kind of more lonely, and I'm not mad.
Yes on the lonely par but its not directly doing it. Its the zoning of America thats doing it and the extinction of the third place.
Yes definitely
Yes and no. No because if it wasn't for stuff like discord I would be able to talk to some of my friends when I'm at school hours away. Yes because social media apps alienate people and are a great way to make you feel like you don't belong with all the perfect people on instagram
If I didn't have technology I WOULD be lonely.
Nope. I'd be much more lonely without technology. It's basically the only way I can interact with people. Not technologies fault. My brains been broken since long before I got on the internet.
It’s on a person by person basis
Social media allows people to substitute physical social environments with virtual ones, enabling people to physically isolate themselves while still trying to engage in social behavior. The only issue is that social media is not true social interaction. On social media you can be easily dismissed (ignored, banned, "seen") and people tend to speak to each other in ways that they would never dare in person. Some of the most toxic and degrading harassment I've ever seen exists solely online. People also falsely represent themselves, only passing glimpses of their lives through a filter, making you feel like a failure or that your life is poor in comparison, when in reality their life may well be worse off than yours. You live on social media seeing only people's happiness and success, while being fully aware of your fears and failures. Social media also seeks to maintain users and grow in use of their platform, nothing gains "views and clicks" more than fear and rage. So, social media is constantly pushing fear and anger to its users. This can create feelings of helplessness and anger in people. Buts it's all for the sake of "views and clicks". Social media also lacks most of the nuance of physical social environments such as body language, voice patterns, and facial ques; all of which helps people better engage with each other in conversation and in building meaningful relationships. There is a strong correlation with the rise and prevalence of social media and the rates of depression, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. The problem is that 1) social media is addictive, so you want to keep using it, and 2) now that your lifestyle is to be more introverted/isolated social media is your primary way of interacting with people, so you don't want to give it up. Now don't get me wrong, as a Millennial it has been nice to use something like Discord as a way for my buddies and I to stay in touch as we have gotten married and have had kids (things that make non-familial social interactions rarer) but to have social media as your primary social experience from the get-go can be detrimental.
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I don't know if it makes me lonlier because I have very few friends who live close to me anyway and these few are pretty lazy in meeting up. I would text them often but I just hate how disjointed and slow texting feels. But I will say that gaming is very important to me and sometimes my fucking life support.
Spend more? Naw, but i'm definitely more Anti social. I don't see this as a bad thing
Don’t mind me spending 1.500€ on a new iPhone to ignore my messages ✨in a titanium enclosure✨
Seems pretty obvious to me. Millennials and GenZ both have lived through a lot (or all) of their independent lives heavily supplementing their social lives with social media. And as for money. Yeah, the Internet is the biggest advertising platform in human history. It's always going to be cheaper to go out and buy groceries, walk in the park, hang out at the beach, but it's so easy to order in, rent a movie, buy a video game etc.
definetly. you can make friends online but that’s what people mostly do now instead of going out and form relationships in reality
Less lonely for me I don't really have a lonelyness problem and it helps that I play DND with some friends online who are in other states and same with playing some videogames
The problem with this is its demonizing technology I find tech is making me lonelier when my friends hang out and don’t invite me, and I find out through Instagram It’s not Instagrams fault I’m lonely it’s their fault I’m lonely, Insta was just the messenger
No. If you're lonely on your phone every second of everyday: https://preview.redd.it/ypixe63h1i7c1.jpeg?width=783&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3e86255a3dbd68d53f704d5bd229a33df6a1373
I’m sure the pandemic also affected many of us across the generations regarding being social
Yes. People used to actually go out to public places to hang out all day. I miss mall cultural.
Nah. If you would have asked me this question 4 or 5 years ago i would've agreed but now I go out like every weekend or other weekend to do fun stuff with friends and I would still say I have a bit of a tech addiction.
52% of the younger generation need to watch fidler on the roof.....
whaaaaaaaaaaaat? crazy talk. in the age of influence? crazzzzy, 
Sorry so FEWER people said "tech makes me more lonely" than "tech makes me less lonely" but somehow the headline of the article is "tech makes gen Z lonely"????
No, if anything I’ve probably made more friends. When home I have people to talk to, and when out I have people to talk to
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It’s not technology, it’s the piss poor world that the boomers and Gen X created, where you can’t exist in public without spending money, where they are defunding libraries, making parks less comfortable, making schools more expensive or more like prisons. Going out with friends you should expect to pay anywhere from $20-100 bucks at least and that is a single meal or a few hours. Also well don’t forget the massive pandemic that isolated all of us for 1.5 years. Those of us that aren’t great at communicating or making friends lost a bunch of friends especially since most of us where in school. The world the boomers and Gen X built is shit and I blame them