Loneliness is the concept of feeling alone, having no one else to go to, and feeling like you aren’t good enough for anyone. In today’s age, technology reigns supreme, and almost everyone possesses some form of technology. Along with the rise of technology comes the rise of social media. With apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, you are able to see other people’s lives, 24/7. This constant use of technology only distances people from each other, making this generation struggle with real acceptance and overcoming loneliness. Social media and technology use needs to be limited so people can make real connections and experiences.

Today, many teenagers have social media, and this creates an issue within teenagers shaping them in their most formative years. A study done by Harvard, and recorded by Brian Chen of the New York Times in the article “How Tech Created a Recipe for Loneliness,” asked 500 teenagers did an interview on 500 teenagers and asked them questions three times a day about their social interactions. TIn the study it concluded that more than 50 percent of the teens didn’t socialize with anyone at all (Chen 1-2). These teenagers’ scrolling endlessly distances them from the outside world, creating a digital bubble around them. What does this isolation do to these teenagers? This digital bubble that is built around teensthem causes them to have to reside with someone, but the only people they can reside with is others on social media. Most people compare themselves to others., It’s human nature, but when people compare themselves to real people, they can see their flaws and how they actually act. When it comes to social media, people only post what they want others to see. When teenagers see this perfected version of people on social media, it starts to make them feel like they aren’t good enough. “Online and offline, people naturally compare themselves with others, a behavior that psychologists call social comparisons. Social comparisons can manifest online in many different ways. One way could be counting the number of likes, comments and reshares that your posts get compared with those of your friends. It could be comparing your body with the body of a beauty or fitness influencer. For parents, it could be monitoring your newborn’s development compared with other infants’. When people feel they are behind others in life, it can be isolating” (Chen 16). Some of these expectations and comparisons are unrealistic and drive people to lose the sense of themselves. This loneliness doesn’t only reside in teenagers, it also resides with adults too;, people seek companionship.
technology might appear to foster connections; however, it gets rid of meaning and only amplifies the feeling of loneliness, getting rid of human interaction and real life connections. Social media paints these pictures of perfect human beings leaving others to idealize them and feel like they are not enough, only further isolating. The New York Times states, “Americans now spend more time alone, have fewer close friendships and feel more socially detached from their communities than they did 20 years ago. One in two adults reports experiencing loneliness, the physiological distress that people endure from social isolation” (Chen 4). The more technological the world grows, the more issues and isolation it brings. Even with dating apps, it might bring happiness to some extent the overall corruption and reduction of authentic social bonding.“It’s hard to know who’s being real online, and it’s hard for people to be themselves online, and that is a recipe for loneliness” (Chen 6). This constant withdrawal from the real world doesn’t help fix the issue of loneliness; it only pushes it and creates a false sense of connection.
Loneliness is a deep issue that has been around forever however the use of technology doesn’t improve this issue. Teenagers are constantly being changed and the vast catalog of technology doesn’t change them for the better. Whether it’s social media or dating apps, the issue still persists in the lack of real human connection. Loneliness is an issue that needs to be tackled in a different way than technology. Technology usage needs to be limited so real human interactions can grow.