Why is it that in the modern age, being alone is now considered to be the new sexy? As in, there are now so many people who openly come out to talk about their preferences and take pride in the fact that they love being alone, secluded from the rest of society. They prefer to live alone, they work with the least amount of people, and every area of their life caters to the fact that they come into contact with the least amount of people possible.
That is just their regular, mundane life, but then, how does it get sustained when this is how they live every day, their days turn into weeks, and then months, and even years? Doing the same thing, meeting a few people, and having no one who really cares about you.
As an introvert who is also a remote worker, as in I just hate the idea of having to go out every day to work, I can understand how lonely it can get. With only your mind for company, and everyone you come into contact with is through a digital screen. It can get to you, and it can really mess with your mental health. That’s why I can say that even if I love staying alone, I’m rarely ever alone. There are people who will always check up on me, just for the sake of knowing I’m okay.
You see, over the weekend, I found out about a Chinese App that’s called “Are You Dead”, or something like that. It’s designed to be a digital companion for people who are lonely and have no one else around them. This is due to the epidemic of loneliness hitting people. You could be gravely ill, and no one will know. Hell, a person could even die, and the world will just quietly move on. It’s only when the body decays that people will catch on.
So, this app comes in as the savior. When you’ve not checked in during a specified length of time, the app immediately alerts the emergency contact stored in the app, who then takes appropriate action. And it’s a great idea, because everyone can have it. We have many old folks who live alone, and it could be a great help to them.
But then I wonder, isn’t this app just making it easier for us to cope with and adapt to loneliness? Shouldn’t the main goal be to fight it altogether? Because the app encourages us to remain lonely, because now, there will be someone to come along when you’re ill or when you’re dead. Because for many, the solution to this can be as basic as having friends or even acquaintances. If people take a more active part in community work, they get more involved in their worship centers, where there will always be activities, and they also become more involved in neighborhood activities.
These are things that would give you a reason to step out and mingle with other people. Which is why on a day you fail to turn up, there will be someone who comes to check up on you. This self-imposed isolation we place ourselves in is just not it. We only love it when we’re healthy and of sound mind. But the mind gets unsound pretty quickly when all the conversations you have are with yourself.
We need to fight this loneliness epidemic. We need to get more social and mingle more with people. Because as much as people are bad and terrible. People are still angels and saints who will lift a mountain just to make you feel better.
Let’s all do better and enjoy what it really means to live in a community.
