engleski

Lonely Crowd, Indeed

“Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self- sufficient as not to need to and therefore does not partake of society is either a beast or a god.” Aristotle The philosophical understanding of human social character articulated in Aristotle’s “Politics” has been challenged by the development of modern society. Up to 80% of those under 18 years of age and 40% of those over 65 of age report being lonely at least sometimes, and 15–30% of the general population suffer from chronic loneliness. Why loneliness is such a great problem of modern society. Human species possess a level of social organization that entails groups of adults living together and whose relationships with others endure over the time span. The danger of isolation trigger implicit hypervigilance for social threat, together with greater anxiety and hostility. What happens when society starts to change evolutionary habits? Reisman, Glazer, and Denney published a study “The Lonely Crowd” in 1950. The social and age structure of developed societies later mirrors exactly the study predictions. The authors were analyzing three cultural types: tradition-directed, inner-directed, and other-directed. The other-directed person wants to be loved rather than esteemed. Those who are other- directed need assurance that they are emotionally in tune with others. Other directed persons suffer from loneliness more than traditional type character. The other-directed character now dominates society. The problem arises when the society isolates that kind of personality and creates a social paradox: growing majority of the population becomes an isolated social group being growing demographic majority at the same time. Individual differences in health behaviors, stress exposure, physiological stress responses, appraisal, and coping, and therapeutic processes are connected to level and intensity of loneliness of “other-directed person.” The evidence from the research will be presented showing that we are neither beast nor gods. The effects of each of these pathways endow loneliness with the capacity to accelerate the rate of physiological decline with age. Measurable outcomes include impaired immunity, a pro-inflammatory gene expression profile, accelerated cognitive decline, depression, poor sleep quality, decreased cardiovascular function, and early mortality “Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self- sufficient as not to need to and therefore does not partake of society is either a beast or a god.” Aristotle The philosophical understanding of human social character articulated in Aristotle’s “Politics” has been challenged by the development of modern society. Up to 80% of those under 18 years of age and 40% of those over 65 of age report being lonely at least sometimes, and 15–30% of the general population suffer from chronic loneliness. Why loneliness is such a great problem of modern society. Human species possess a level of social organization that entails groups of adults living together and whose relationships with others endure over the time span. The danger of isolation trigger implicit hypervigilance for social threat, together with greater anxiety and hostility. What happens when society starts to change evolutionary habits? Reisman, Glazer, and Denney published a study “The Lonely Crowd” in 1950. The social and age structure of developed societies later mirrors exactly the study predictions. The authors were analyzing three cultural types: tradition-directed, inner-directed, and other-directed. The other-directed person wants to be loved rather than esteemed. Those who are other- directed need assurance that they are emotionally in tune with others. Other directed persons suffer from loneliness more than traditional type character. The other-directed character now dominates society. The problem arises when the society isolates that type of personality and creates a social paradox: growing majority of the population becomes an isolated social group being growing demographic majority at the same time. Individual differences in health behaviors, stress exposure, physiological stress responses, appraisal, and coping, and therapeutic processes are connected to level and intensity of loneliness of “other-directed person.” The evidence from the research will be presented showing that we are neither beast nor gods. The effects of each of these pathways endow loneliness with the capacity to accelerate the rate of physiological decline with age. Measurable outcomes include impaired immunity, a pro-inflammatory gene expression profile, accelerated cognitive decline, depression, poor sleep quality, declined cardiovascular function, and early mortality

Loneliness; accelerated cognitive decline; depression; poor sleep quality; declined cardiovascular function; and early mortality

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