Life has its challenges and everybody has their way of going through it efficiently. People usually pick their coping mechanism to ensure that after every upheaval, they are intact or even better and Generation Z is not an exception. This is the youngest generation popularly known for their tech-savvy attributes, a reason behind their popular description as Internet natives.
Being a young generation, they face challenges that come with their youthful years. Also, now that times have really changed, their problems are unique to their generation. Just like how it has been with the millennials.
The Loneliest Generation
Generation Z has been referred to as the loneliest generation. Loneliness affects every generation however, recent research and surveys have established that there is a higher level of loneliness in this generation.
How Generation Z spend their time
Many Generation Z were born and raised in an era when the internet was widely used. They, therefore, spend a lot of their free time on the internet.
They spend most of their time on their phones doing the following
- Browsing through the internet searching for information about various things.
- They visit several social media sites, watch videos, look at pictures, post, and comment on other posts.
- They stream videos and movies.
Causes of this Loneliness
Advances in technology have led to numerous distractions that leave one with little energy to focus on human socialization. Human interaction requires energy and motivation, which get drained when one is highly distracted.
Secondly, social media has come to replace human interactions. Social media presents a platform that seems real, where people can see what is happening in others’ lives. Sometimes, people can even converse through social media. This takes up more time than actual human interaction.
Lastly, the dependency shift has shifted. Years ago, fixing a light bulb could have involved knocking on the neighbour’s door but now, one browses on the internet and gets the whole procedure.
How they can overcome this loneliness
As can be seen, screen time takes up much of Generation Z’s time, leaving little to no energy and motivation for actual human relations. Here are some ways in which a Generation Z individual can overcome loneliness.
1. Reduce screen time
Social media can be very interesting. One gets a peak into the world through his or her account by watching interesting videos and funny posts. This social media passes time really fast.
However, too much social media usage impacts one’s well-being negatively as has been explained above.
Reduce your social media usage to a reasonable number of hours per day. Cutting off social media usage completely may not be ideal.
2. Be intentional about meeting friends
Apart from communicating with friends on social media and through call or messaging services, make an attempt to go physical.
Be intentional about meeting each other face to face and have those conversations literally. One can be intentional by making actual plans to meet physically.
3. Take up any opportunity for human interaction
When there is an opportunity for human interaction, take it up. This may present itself in many ways, a good example could be through asking for help or even offering to help when one is in need.
Many opportunities for human interaction will present themselves as you carry out your daily activities and yours is just to take it up.
Loneliness affects every human being at some point in life. Looking for ways to overcome this state requires an understanding of how it came to be in the first place. When one understands the root cause, it becomes easier to deal with it.
Here are more articles on loneliness to check out
The Importance Of Female Friendships
How To Maintain Strong And Lasting Friendships
Business: 9 Ways To Deal With Loneliness As An Entrepreneur
How The Male Loneliness Epidemic Affects Fathers And What Can Be Done To Help
