Have you ever though that the feeling of loneliness would be considered contagious? Even though we may think that loneliness occurs when one is by him/herself and isolated, the feeling of loneliness can actually occur when we are with other people in our social networks. New research shows that loneliness can spread from person to person within the social networks they are involved in. The results were posted in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology as well as in a book called "Connected." The book looks at how obesity, smoking, happiness, and may other things can be spread from person to person.
Researchers have done studies about a group of people and their levels of loneliness. They also looked at the participants' friends and their levels of loneliness. They were able to study this group a couple of times through a span of a few years. By doing this, they were able to see how levels of loneliness had changed, and whether they had spread among the people in their social networks. The research shows that if you have direct contact with someone in your social network who is lonely, you are 52 percent more likely to be lonely too. At two degrees of seperation, such as a friend of a friend, you are 25 percent more likely to be lonely. At three degrees of seperation, the percentage moves down to 15 percent.
Dr. John Cacioppo, a psychologist, talks about how people like to be around others that they trust, like, and have strong bonds with. When an individual starts to question those bonds or if the trust may chance, we may feel lonely because those people aren't as present in our hearts and lives as they once were. We focus so much on interaction and strong friendships that when things change, we feel alone.
So, what do you think? Can you feel lonely even when you are around quite a few people from your social network? Is loneliness contagious? Do you think that it spreads easily?
Absolutely. I have felt very lonely in the middle of a huge crowd of several thousand that I considered to be my friends. I've felt horribly lonely at family gatherings and friendly get-togethers. These instances were when I was dealing with anxiety, social phobias, and depression; so it likely had more to do with that than the people I was with. However, I can definitely see how it is contagious.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have had friends or family members that are down about something, I get down too. And when they are really excited or happy about something, for the most part, so am I. So if those emotions are contagious, it would make sense that loneliness is too.
Jane,
ReplyDeleteI’m all for people caring for the environment and wanting to make a change. But did anyone ever stop and question the global warming theory? I’m not really all so sure I buy it anymore. I wrote a blog last year about how global warming was made up by the media to give our society a reason why our world is changing. The article I cited went on to explain that our world is going to go through another ice age. It is a natural process that can’t be stopped. However, if everyone believed that it would be all doom and gloom. It doesn’t really matter what I believe because I don’t think that eliminating pollution from our environment is bad in any way.
I am definitely surprised by your blog! I have felt lonely when with social groups, so that doesn't really surprise me but the thing that does surprise me is that if you have direct contact with someone in your social network who is lonely, you are 52 percent more likely to be lonely too. I just don't understand how we can subconsciously pick up on that. Unless the person is quiet, depressed, and doesn't talk then I suppose...but I usually think of lonliness as more of a private matter that people try to hide when in public or with others. But I definitely believe it though. I know that almost all moods are contagious. I just thought lonliness was a hidden mood.
ReplyDeleteI guess I have always had a different definition of loneliness. I think of loneliness as physically being away from people. I hadn't thought of it as being an emotion. But, when I think of it as an emotion, I could see how it could be contagious. Usually, a matter comes up that divides an individual from another individual or a group. This brings communication down as a whole, and if it's not dealt with, there will soon be separation.
ReplyDelete