Technology blamed for creating an epidemic of loneliness

Melbourne: Technology may have improved communications over borders, but it has also created an epidemic of loneliness.

According to the Times, a major report by the Mental Health Foundation suggests that more than one in ten people in Britain often feel lonely, as increasing numbers chose to live alone, work long hours and see each other seldom. The survey of more than 2,200 adults from across Britain suggests that women are more susceptible to feeling isolated than men, reports Couriermail.com. According to the charity`s report named `The Lonely Society?`, experts are now claiming that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter weaken peoples` interpersonal skills. The poll reveals that while 35 percent people would like to move to live closer to their family in order to see them more often, 18 percent say they should see their families more in person. The report says it is too early to say whether technology is changing our core ability to relate to others, but we can conclude that technology is no substitute for the human interaction that it is a buffer against loneliness. It has been argued that the 50 minutes a day most Britons spend on the virtual world detracts from the time we invest in real-life social encounters, the report says. ANI