Are We Really Living In “Isolation Nation"? How Do We Break Free?
We live in a world where a song with the lyrics “ Baby, I am not afraid to die, push me to the edge. All my friends are dead..” is played on the radio. That verse is part of the chorus which is repeated throughout the song and over and over. Now you may be thinking, oh this writer is into some dark stuff. Although at times I am twisted, I do not speak about death over my friends. But to my surprise, the music artist, Lil Uzi Vert had this song hit top charts with a billion streams. Yes, this was played one billion times. I understand there is a whole premise behind this song, a true story for someone in which the song was birthed. But it's the popularity of this song that speaks volumes on everyone’s social life. How are we connecting to this song so immensely?
via Padhaaro
In addition to that, studies have shown as we move towards globalization, the more narrow and tunneled our social life becomes. We stay in our bubbles of social media, we follow who we want to follow, and we stay in our lanes. Long gone are the days' physical contact was the only connecting platform. You can DM, tweet, or hashtag to connect to multiple people within seconds. In a sense that is “connecting” but you are still alone in a dark room with only a cell phone light illuminating your face; hence the problem with the feeling isolated. The emotion of isolation can lead to health problems such as heart attacks and suicidal thoughts ( look at the lyrics above). On top of that, we lost our edge of adventure to meet new people because let's be honest; it's getting rough out here in these streets. And who wants to go out anymore when you can order postmates and binge watch your favorite Anime, I get it. So how do we get out of our feels before more damage is done?
let's change the narrative
One thing we do as Millenials is change the game and make up our own rules. I challenge all of us to break the common thought that we are alone. Let's do some quick math, how can we all be alone, together? To go further into changing the narrative, there is nothing wrong with a little “me time” we are strengthening our individual energy and becoming more aware of our own emotions which can only be found when you are alone. Lastly, let's stop thinking isolation or being a “lone wolf” is cool. Loneliness or admitting it, has become a trend but I'm not seeing the resolution following behind. If you're lonely don't tweet about it and expect the loneliness to fly away.
Pick up the phone and call a loved one or someone you thought about recently and just check up on them. Results may vary, but at least you're doing something more than Instagramming a meme about loneliness and thinking that Lil giggle was the cure. I know, it's getting super real in here. But general advice to go outside, meet new people, yadda yadda doesn't cut it. I know for a lot of us, (me included) is starts within. I have to be up for that and my mind has to be prepared to listen to people. So let's just start with phone calls and go from there. If all of us think a certain way, change will come. Lets think, we are presently here. Together.
cover image via We Must Confess
