This thread is permanently archived
How to reduce loneliness: Meaningful activities can improve health, well-being
| Despite — or perhaps in part because of — technology that can connect people anywhere at any time, previous research has shown that loneliness has increased over recent decades.
Loneliness is a risk factor associated with adolescents being drawn into compulsive internet use. The risk of compulsive use has grown in the coronavirus pandemic: loneliness has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents, who spend longer and longer periods of time online.
| >Flow reduces loneliness
According to the researchers, reduced loneliness is associated with engaging in enjoyable activities that require both concentration and skill.
“When people become engrossed in what they are doing, they enter a state that is called ‘flow,’” Dattilo explained. “Flow can be achieved by engaging in mental or physical activities that we value and that require us to concentrate fully to use our skills.”
| For people to achieve a state of flow, an activity must require a good deal of their skill but not be so difficult that it seems impossible. Additionally, it must demand concentration to execute and be meaningful to the participant. Artistic endeavors like playing the piano or painting can induce flow. So can physical activities like skiing or chopping wood, along with mental tasks like writing or storytelling.
| Internet use is a two-edged sword: while the consequences of moderate use are positive, the effects of compulsive use can be detrimental. Compulsive use denotes, among other things, gaming addiction or the constant monitoring of likes on social media and comparisons to others.
Compulsive internet use are linked to depression. Depression predicted problematic internet use, while problematic use further increased depressive symptoms.
| People with extensive free time — like NEETs, or people who live in a nursing home — can achieve flow when they engage in activities they find to be meaningful. In this way, time passes quickly for them, their life has meaning, and their experience of loneliness is reduced, according to the researchers.
| Social support from friends and acquaintances is a primary way that people reduce loneliness.
For many people, however, obtaining adequate social support can be challenging.
Though the researchers found that students with high levels of social support were less lonely, they found that flow was even more important to reducing loneliness. Helping people achieve flow can reduce loneliness in situations where social support is insufficient.
| More importantly, it can reduce loneliness for people in any situation.
Learning which activities might enable someone to enter a state of flow requires asking questions and listening.
Some activities never induce flow, while other activities may or may not, depending on the individual. There is nothing wrong with watching television, but, typically, it does not help people enter a state of flow because they are unlikely to experience any challenges.
| Encouraging flow for everyone
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/948923
Lonely adolescents are susceptible to internet addiction
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/845061
Angry and hateful emotions negatively impact lonely peoples cognitive functions (literally smallbrain)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/693293
Lack of trust exacerbates loneliness spiral
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928943
This thread is permanently archived
| Free time is sometimes idealized, but research shows free time can sometimes be unhealthy by increasing loneliness. A new study demonstrated that engaging in meaningful, challenging activities during free time can reduce people's loneliness and increase their positive feelings.
Across two different studies, the researchers found that people who had meaningful, challenging experiences were less lonely — even when higher levels of social contact and support were not available.