Is the digital age making us lonely?
Sophie Lazarus, Phd, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University Medical Center –
A colleague recently posed this question after reading an article titled “Work and the loneliness epidemic” in the Harvard Business Review.
The article states that loneliness is a growing health problem, especially in the workplace, where our culture doesn’t often foster social connections and meaningful relationships. It also said that “we live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.”
The article got me thinking about my own research in this virtual age of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
I’m an assistant professor and clinician in Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. I treat people with mood and personality disorders.
My research focuses on understanding how the quality and stability of social networks may affect and be affected by psychological disorders.
