Data point of the week

A study published in the Journal of Adolescence, titled Worldwide increases in adolescent loneliness, found that twice as many high school students had high levels of loneliness in 2018 (37%) than in 2012 (18%). (Data from the American College Health Assessment shows that this number rises even further in college, with over half of students reporting loneliness.)

The study found that “school loneliness was high when smartphone access and internet use were high” and that school loneliness was linked to depressive symptoms, leading the researchers hypothesize that the spike in loneliness may be responsible for the parallel spike in adolescent depression over the same period.

Reflection
It’s terrifying to contemplate what will happen to our collective mental health and well-being if the trajectory on this graph continues unchecked.

The researchers link the beginning of the loneliness spike in 2012 to the time when smartphone use became widespread among adolescents. Certainly, there are other factors at play as well, and there are many benefits to technology, including using it as a tool for connection.

However, it is worrisome that a large amount of in-person social time has been replaced by online social time, particularly in the younger generations. Online interactions tend to be quicker, shallower, and lacking the wide range of mental health and social development benefits of in-person interactions.

Are our in-personal social skills getting weaker through lack of practice?

I am optimistic that this trend is reversible by building more high-quality connection into our lives. That’s the purpose of ProjectConnect—to help facilitate meaningful interaction and connection-building in schools, colleges, and workplaces. There are other steps you can take too. In the above study, schools that didn’t allow cellphone use during the day had lower rates of loneliness. And of course, you can practice this week’s connection skill.  

Connection Skill & Action Step: Match social media time with IRL social time
This practice comes from Adam Smiley Powolsky’s book, Friendship in the Age of Loneliness. This week, try to match the time you spend on social media with time spent on socializing in-person with friends.

To track your social media time, go to “settings” on your phone and click on “screen time” to see how much time you use your phone each day, and what you spend it on, or use SocialX to track social media use on your computer.

Want to take political action as well? Check out the Center for Humane Technology’s actions for creating tech that is aligned with humanity’s best interests.

Questions (Please share in the comments):
Do you think in-person social skills have changed through lack of practice—either because of the pandemic, or because of more time online and less time face-to-face?

What pandemic-proof IRL activities have you enjoyed with friends?