Analytical Essay on Social Infrastructure: Modern Pandemics of Loneliness

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Currently, we are in an unprecedented situation. Never have our everyday normal activities taken such a toll on the immediate society. We are all asked to self-isolate within our homes. While for some this means limiting your physical interactions within your immediate family, for some other that has meant to have any physical contact being stripped away altogether. Being left to your devices and having to embrace isolation alone.

After all, as a result of a shift away from the nuclear family as the main model of habitat, it is more and more popular to live and spend your days in solitude. In the UK alone 34% of households have only one person living in them and by 2039, the number of one-person households is projected to increase to 10.7 million. This unprecedented circumstance can be linked to many different modern life factors. As a society we migrate more, less frequently staying within the proximity of our families. Here in the UK, we settle down much later than the previous generations – the average marriage age now being 33, rather than the 1960s 24 . We also get divorced more often. We have children later in our lives or not at all. With or without spouses or family, we also live longer. And most importantly, we can finally afford to live alone as the wealth generated by economic development and the social security provided by modern welfare states have enabled us to be able to sustain an independent lifestyle. All in all, whether it is from choice or an unwelcome development of conduct, it as a result of multiple circumstances that have made us into a society of singletons. This is more than a phase; this is a social experiment – a situation that ultimately changes the underlying structures of modern societies.

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During the 18th century solitary confinement was offered as a form of reform ‘through the enforced contemplation of one’s sins’, however over time it has evolved into a form of punishment and torture. Within these parameters, the outcomes of isolation can be extreme from enlightenment to depression, in every sense equally manufacturing as massive implications for the human mind and mental health. As the pyramid of needs by Abraham Maslow illustrates, the most basic physiological needs of hunger, thirst and sexual desire lie as the base of basic human satisfaction, then moving on to safety and shelter, when finally at the top addressing love, esteem and self-actualization . These days being locked up in your home may take of the bottom needs but neglects the very real need that humans have for one another. Ultimately, many during the Covid-19 lockdown have found themselves missing this undefinable link to others, craving society as well as their closest people, be it family, friends, acquaintances, or even strangers. This is not something untaggable – it simply is chemical. Oxytocin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland, washing through our bodies, it is a neurotransmitter that essentially can be blamed for something we would describe as the ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling when we interact, touch, or exchange pleasant interactions with others. It is both an incentive and a reward for altruism. Meaning that the emotional unease created by the current social isolation can be partially explained with the lack of thereof as interacting with other people ultimately makes us happier.

As Canadian writer and urbanist Charles Montgomery argues:

Social isolation just may be the greatest environmental hazard of city living – worse than noise, pollution, or even crowding. The more connected we are with the family and community, the less likely we are to experience colds, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and depression. (..) Connected people sleep better at night. They are more able to tackle adversity. They live longer. They consistently report being happier.’

Not to argue that this is not a massively oversimplified argument as being near people does not save you from any of the mentioned conditions, however research proves that happiness and human well-being is something that provides health and therefore quantifiable benefits to a life. As we tackle the modern welfare of urban living and currently face the worst health crisis of contemporary living, it is beneficial to examine what could be the factors behind the fallout of the health of the urban dweller. People feel safest and happiest in groups, as a result ‘we experience isolation as a physical state of emergency’. Leaving coronavirus not only as the very real threat to our lungs but also causing social isolation as detrimental to our mental health in relation to increasing depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

Based on the research by Robert Putnam the social networks we keep have been dwindling for decades. He argues that people are becoming more and more solitary – on average having fewer people to confide in, losing ties within their communities and neighbourhoods and on general less likely to trust other people and institutions. At first glance this could easily be read as nostalgia and wishful memory of a happier time forgone, however through the extensive research Putman undertook this statement becomes solidified. Within his research he claims that the fall of the traditional family unit is not to blame for the loss of civic engagement, but can be attributed to multiple factors some of which are sprawl, electronic entertainment and the generational change from a generation that valued civic engagement much more highly than the current and future ones. Before lockdown AgeUK reported that in the UK nearly half of people aged over 65 reported that television or a pet is their only day to day company. One can only estimate and rightly assume of how much this already drastically high number has increased during the several months of lockdown and social distancing.

Humans are social animals. Situated by ourselves a condition of loneliness erects. One can be alone and not be lonely or be together with many and feel lonely, but there is a connection between the two. In the ‘History of an Emotion’ Fay Bound Alberti describes loneliness as ‘a conscious, cognitive feeling of estrangement or social separation from meaningful others’ She argues that loneliness (in its modern understanding) did not actually exist until the 19th century. That is people were occasionally lonely, but before that time it would have been impossible to survive without consistent help and support from other people. As such the condition of loneliness can be viewed as a by-product of capitalism – manufacturing a society which values individual goods above the ties of country, family and social. ‘Many of the divisions and hierarchies that have developed since the eighteenth century—between self and world, individual and community, public and private — have been naturalized through the politics and philosophy of individualism,’ she writes. As such loneliness is a very modern issue erected by the cult of the individual. And if the cult of the individual is the result of capitalism, urban cities are its churches and grounds for breeding – the centres of modern globalisation, which ultimately has increased exchange, migration and a certain idea of freedom. However, with freedom and individualism there really is no need for attachment or obligation to serve a certain community, be it family or other. The only obligation one has in the cult of the individual within the urban city is to oneself. No wonder it can get lonely within such an ideal of solitude and, indeed, we are becoming lonelier. This should come as no surprise, as the only country in the world to have appointed a Loneliness Minister, social isolation in the United Kingdom is a recognised issue. 5 mil £ In a nation vide survey BBC4 conducted a survey which showed that nearly 1/3 of the country recognise themselves as being lonely. ..

What has this shift in living models changed about our societies? Does it make a difference to our general life happiness and living standards or is it unconnected to the emotional unease? Are we damaged by our new ways of living?

However, there is little proof to say that loneliness is a condition that is created just from the condition of being alone. In theory and much more usual days than these, the urban dweller daily interacts with far more people than its prehistoric counterpart. However, as research shows it is the quality not the quantity of human interaction and connection which can best predict the condition of loneliness. As coined by Eric Klinenberg ‘What matters is not whether we live alone, but whether we feel alone.’ In fact, there are many positives that can come out of a solitary lifestyle. If correctly sustained it can lead the way for personal growth as we learn how to enjoy our own company. Leaving our newfound singleton lifestyle with some form of hope of redemption and probability to lead to a healthy connected life. However, in order to maintain quality social contact, people who live alone need to place in great effort into building and later sustaining a strong network of people around themselves, which has largely proved to be difficult within contemporary urban living.

Social isolation is not a brand-new issue, however, within the current Covid-19 lockdown, we can experience an extreme version of a pre-existing condition, dividing people severely. Making the already existing conditions and problems much more real and noticeable. Ultimately, this rise in solo living might not be the one to blame for our infinite and modern pandemics of loneliness. However, if we closely observe the fundamental building blocks of our societies and the extent of social infrastructure within London, it is not built for what this shift in lifestyle is prevailing. Current social infrastructures are mainly modelled on the traditional nuclear family and its associated kin, not prioritising the needs of people who experience loneliness in urban environments. In the wake of changes within the contemporary world, which in the last decades have significantly shifted towards new behaviour patterns, it is important for the urban realm and architecture to identify and address a lack of architectural and urban encouragement for human connection, social infrastructures and the issues of urban loneliness which comes with it. Going forward how can we look towards shaping cities, which work for nurturing and forming social connections, while still maintaining the safety of its inhabitants?

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