Our Phones Alleviate Loneliness—or do They?
You are sitting in a cafe, by yourself. As you sip a cup of coffee, you pull out your phone and open Instagram in an attempt to fill the void inside of you. Scrolling and scrolling, you search through pictures and stories for some way to fill the emptiness inside. Our phones have become our go-to source of company, our faithful companion who remains by our side through everything. For this reason, people suffering from loneliness might likewise be suffering from excessive or uncontrolled use of smartphones. “The indicators include […] using smartphone to alleviate unpleasant mood, interference with other activities in daily life such as problems with family and friends as well as interference with school or personal activities, using smartphone in socially inappropriate or physically dangerous situations (e.g. texting while driving), and emotional frustration when smartphone use is inhibited” (Kim, Jung-Hyun). Many people today cannot imagine a day without the comfort of their phone. Loneliness itself is known to be one of the antecedents of addictive behaviours such as drug and alcohol abuse, overeating, and even suicide. Furthermore, loneliness is associated with problematic media use, such as the internet and mobile phones. “Since lonely people are usually not successful or comfortable with their offline interaction with others, they tend to prefer communication available on the internet to face-to-face interaction.” Unfortunately, those suffering from a high level of loneliness tend to have a difficult time regulating their behaviours, including maintaining a healthy level of media use. “Such excessive and unregulated media use leads to more social isolation forcing the lonely to rely on media more, thus increasing the possibility of problematic use of media” (Kim, Jung-Hyun). Accordingly, problematic use of cellphones and loneliness are considered to be closely associated, which demonstrates the prominence of cellphone usage when it comes to social interaction. In order to maintain healthy social interaction, one must be sure to monitor cellphone usage and frequently spend time face-to-face with others.
Works Cited
Kim, Jung-Hyun. “Smartphone-Mediated Communication Vs. Face-To-Face Interaction: Two Routes to Social Support and Problematic Use of Smartphone.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 67, Feb. 2017, pp. 282-291. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.004.