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Young people affected by loneliness / Social media cannot replace physical contact

2024-02-14 15:04:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Young people affected by loneliness / Social media cannot replace physical

Illustrative photo

On this Valentine's Day, the problem of loneliness is especially evident for many affected people. Meanwhile, loneliness has also become a topic of federal policy in Germany. In some countries there are people who have been dealing with this field for a long time. Sylvio Böhm e.g. is the "loneliness manager" at a housing association in Erfurt, eastern Germany. Most of those affected told him that they had not exchanged a word with anyone for weeks.

This feeling can arise in old age, because many relationships gradually fade away. When the elderly's family no longer lives where they live, when they only see the nursing service, can't go shopping on their own or go to the bank and talk to others there, life can become unbearable for them.

The problem is that the family often tends to leave the elderly just when they need it most, Böhm told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio.

Social media cannot replace physical contact

But loneliness is not a phenomenon specific to the elderly. Also affected are very young people. Young people between the ages of 14 and 25 say in surveys that they are lonely because they are often not sure of themselves.

They often find refuge in video games or #TikTok, but this is just a distraction. Most of them are not even aware of their loneliness.

Psychologists remember that social media cannot replace physical contact. The reason is that man is a physical being, who wants to be touched, looked into the eyes, look at others how they are and how they feel, how fat they are, how tall they are, smell the scent, etc. Social media is better than nothing, but it's no substitute for a hug, a handshake or a visit to the hospital when you're sick.

Referring to the government in Berlin and its decision to implement a strategy to fight loneliness, Böhm said that Germany is still not positioned well enough.

Psychologist Maike Luhmann also called the anti-loneliness strategy adopted before Christmas by the government insufficient. She told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the strategy includes more than a hundred measures, most of which seem reasonable. But the problem is that no additional euros are invested. In other countries there are already ministries of loneliness.

The professor, who advises the German federal government, explained that research on loneliness focuses on the young or the elderly. But middle-aged people are also at risk, for example when they have little time left for friendship, as they have to take care of children, home and career.

Strategies to combat loneliness in the elderly

The former chairman of the German Social Democrats (SPD) Franz Müntefering emphasized the need for a strategy to combat loneliness among the elderly. Every day only people die in Germany, he told the newspaper "Augsburger Allgemeine". In times of pandemic, this rightly aroused anger. That is why society should think about what can be done in this area. Müntefering cited as an example that local authorities to employ social workers to look after lonely people and sometimes call or visit them.

Last year, more than one million people in Germany contacted the Telefonseelsorge telephone advice service. According to a spokesman, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine were often the reason for the calls. But loneliness and depressed mood also play an important role, he told the German news agency DW.