solving the loneliness epidemic should be a huge priority for most nation states, just a huge psychological and economic cost that we are silently bearing

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it’s a bit like asking how to solve for encouraging people to have kids… we shouldn’t really have to incentivize this behaviour, it’s natural.

so then the flip side is asking what is currently deterring this behaviour, and on the surface you might say social media algos, remote work, low wages and therefore lower discretionary spending.

but somehow those answers feel very incomplete, like we’re staring down a larger more insidious problem. why aren’t we friendly with our neighbours anymore? how do we fix something so fundamental as relating to one another?

It’s fear and lack of trust. People have slowly lost faith in people.

Instead, we’ve redirected that trust toward systems tech, routines, brands, institutions that feel predictable. Our jobs eat our time. Our screens eat our attention. And over time, society quietly redefined what counts as “fun.”

The real epidemic isn’t just loneliness it’s a vibe shift in how we think about connection. We stopped believing other humans were worth the emotional risk.