LONELINESS POISONING MILLIONS OF LIVES IN THE WORLD

23-JULY-ENG 15

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------‘Every sixth person is lonely’- this is the conclusion of the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO), which has worried the whole world and forced it to think about what kind of social structure we are creating, which is making humans lonely. Certainly, increasing loneliness is not a simple social, family and personal problem, but is becoming a global mental health crisis, which is hollowing out individuals, societies and business institutions from within. Crores of people in the world are living a life of absolute silence in situations of broken relationships and lack of communication. If we notice, this silence within humans is poisoning millions of lives in the form of an epidemic. The irony is that the youth are becoming the biggest victims of this crisis. The elderly are already neglected in social and family discrepancies. Certainly, the discrepancies and inequalities of life have increased. Many types of challenges are in front of us. The gap between generations has increased with the expansion of science and technology.

The WHO report shows that about 16 percent of the world's population today is a victim of loneliness, social isolation or emotional distance in some form or the other. This situation is not limited to the elderly, but has spread to youth, working professionals, and even children. In the digital age, where everything seems 'connected', an invisible distance, artificiality and lack of intimacy is being seen in human relationships. The more connected we are in the virtual world of social media, the more emotionally lonely we have become. The fatal impact of loneliness in individualistic thinking, social side effects and crumbling walls of relationships is having a deep impact on the social structure. Cracks in family relationships, dissatisfaction in marriages, and increasing divorce rates are clear signs of this. Depression, suicidal tendencies and inclination towards drug addiction have become a worrying trend in the young generation. Alzheimer's, dementia and other mental diseases caused by loneliness are increasing rapidly among the elderly. Loneliness is not just a person's personal weakness, but it is a sign of the collective failure of society. When we get so entangled in technology, race and selfishness that no one has "time to listen", then loneliness is born. Now the time has come to return to the world of relationships, communication and compassion. Otherwise, feelings of loneliness, sadness and dissatisfaction will keep tormenting. As if there is no sense of self, no desire left. Then the beauty hidden in small things is not visible. It seems that many people are alive, but very few are able to touch the magical feeling of being alive. Due to materialism and convenience-oriented thinking, the sky of our aspirations has risen. But due to not being able to balance with reality, frustration, despair and depression are expanding. Due to which despair pushes us towards loneliness or being alone. Certainly, social media is expanding in a revolutionary way. But its reality is virtual, artificial, pretentious. Everyone claims to have thousands of friends on social media platforms, but how sensitive are these friends? How close are they? The answer to these questions is negative, in real life a person is completely alone and lost. Artificial communication of virtual friends cannot solve the questions of our life, cannot remove loneliness. Certainly artificial relationships cannot strengthen the fabric of our real relationships.

The irony is that due to artificiality, the effectiveness of our words has also decreased somewhere. Due to which a person is constantly moving towards a lonely life. The changing form of our joint families and the increasing trend of nuclear families is also at the root of this. Earlier, the elders of the house used to easily bear any shock or pressure. Everyone used to face economic and social crises together. But now the elderly are struggling with loneliness and isolation. Realizing the similar old age crisis in Kerala, the government there has formed a Senior Citizens Commission, which is a sensible step. Today, the elderly are always troubled by loneliness, neglect by family members, misbehavior, contempt, bitterness, fear of being thrown out of the house or the sorrow of wandering here and there in search of a roof. Why is the elderly society so frustrated, lonely and neglected is an important question. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are busy giving shape to many healthy and ideal society-building schemes, they should also think about the loneliness of the elderly and implement elderly welfare schemes, so that the talent, skills and experiences of the elderly can be properly utilized in the creation of a new India-strong India and loneliness does not become a tragedy in the Amrit Kaal of Independence.

The ever-increasing complexity of working conditions and the increasing cost of lifestyle have deepened the crisis of loneliness. This situation is more complex in those families where both husband and wife are working and children are living in hostels and boarding schools. Even in business areas, the burden of work is making people lonely. Loneliness is becoming a serious challenge in offices and workplaces as well. Employees lose interest in work due to lack of emotional connection. This has a negative impact on teamwork, innovation and collaboration. If loneliness persists for a long time, it leads to conditions like burnout, job dissatisfaction and employee resignation. This reduces productivity. The quality of life also declines. Reports by global consulting firms like McKinsey and Deloitte show that loneliness can reduce the productivity of employees by 15-20 percent, causing companies to lose billions of dollars. Collective efforts at the individual, social and institutional levels are necessary to deal with this crisis of loneliness. Spending time with family, friends and colleagues is the real 'prosperity'. Companies and institutions need leadership that understands the mental and emotional state of employees. Face-to-face communication should be given priority over digital communication, 'work with community' should be given priority over 'work from home'. Counseling, group discussions, meditation, and yoga should be encouraged in offices and society. Governments should recognize loneliness as a public health problem and run concrete programs for social inclusion.

The WHO data is also shocking that loneliness is ending the lives of about eight lakh people every year. Which shows that the person is not only isolated from the society and his office environment, but he is also cut off from the family. Recently, the top industrialists of the country had urged to increase the working hours in offices. An entrepreneur even said that is it necessary to stay at home and see only the face of the wife. This was an insensitive and absurd reaction.

Actually, this common belief has become strong among the people that the one who has money can do everything. Due to which he has limited his reach from the neighborhood to the workplace. This is the reason that despite the crowd around us and thousands of friends in online life, a person is cursed to live loneliness. The truth is that people do not behave sensitively towards anyone's pain and suffering. Artificiality is prevalent everywhere. Our festivals of meeting and meeting have also now become a victim of show-off and artificial gifts. We have to think about those factors due to which a person is continuously becoming lonely or isolated in his personal life. In fact, loneliness will end only when we become human again – sensitive, alive, full of warmth of communication and relationships.