Physical health is just one side of our well-being. Mental and emotional health is the other side, and most of the time it is not as apparent, since it isn't tangible. In the wake of the global pandemic, discussions on loneliness and mental wellness are being conducted more than ever. People who would always go out or have a lot of friends to hang out with have been confined to their homes too. But is loneliness really all about having nobody to hang out with? Or is it more about not having even a single sincere person beside you?
More than often, people of older age and the elderly are assumed to be lonely. But age is no factor as far as loneliness is considered. The elderly may have fewer connections since they do not belong to the 'social media' age, but are they actually the ones who are lonelier? As per some astonishing statistics, Gen Z, which means the youngest people at the moment, is the loneliest. Gen Z mainly refers to people between the age of 15 and 21 at the moment.
We may have progressed a lot in technology, but the irony is that people are even lonelier during this era of social media. This is because social media may have the word 'social' attached to it, but its purpose has become far away from the actual meaning of the word. Being social has become more about flaunting and 'he who has the most status updates' wins kind of thing. But how many people are actually willing to listen to each other? How many people are actually there for each other in dire times of need?
And then obviously, being a human is all about feeling connected. All you need is at least one person to make it through the troubling thoughts in your head. Or the ravaging down moments in life. Being lonely can have drastic long-term psychological effects. This, in turn, can also lead to poor appetite, sleeping issues and other physical problems too. Ultimately, the side-effects can become so alarming that they can increase the chances of death. The infographic below showcases some facts about loneliness and how adult daycare helps in diminishing loneliness in adults.
Infographic by: OasisDayCenter
