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It’s the modern paradox — we’re more connected than ever before. Yet, somehow, we’ve never felt more alone.
Hannah Lee, a Columbus resident, said isolation can creep in easily, especially when work, friendships and daily life all happen from home or on a screen. She said the growing social division in America doesn’t help.
While she has a great group of friends in the city, she said that unless she plans to see them, she rarely has opportunities to meet new people.
“I’ve been working from home for about five years now. I personally go in two days a week because I need a change of scenery, and I want to talk to people,” Lee said. “You’re really in a silo when you work from home.”
The World Health Organization now calls loneliness a global epidemic and a major public health concern. A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) links loneliness to about 100 deaths every hour, more than 871,000 deaths each year.
People like Andrea Archibald, another Columbus resident, are trying to fight it.
“It’s so hard as a woman especially, we just are expected to raise families and take care of kids and do that perfectly and raise businesses and do that perfectly,” Archibald said. “It’s like hard to have time to find friends and then like, how do you do that? It’s like dating. Like, where do you even find these friends?”
In 2017, Archibald launched Columbus Girl Gang as a space for women to support women-owned businesses and build genuine friendships. Today, the group has nearly 8,000 members and hosts in-person meetups at least once a month.
“We want to try and make it so that women who are in that same boat can, like, try to find people in an organic way that doesn’t feel weird or forced,” Archibald said. “Because of social media. I’m a mom. I’m raising kids. It’s weird. It’s a different world than I grew up in. And social connection was so important. I’m like a salesperson by nature and so it’s just important to me to, like, shake hands and meet people and get to know them and, you know, build that rapport. So I want my kids to grow up kind of knowing, like, you can step away from social media. It’s great. It’s a great way to build conversation and community.”
Research shows strong social connections do more than boost happiness — they can lower your risk of dementia later in life.
At The Ohio State University, Brad Bushman, a professor of communication, said decades of research show people consistently perform better in person — academically, socially, and emotionally.
He recently completed a comprehensive review of the topic across multiple domains.
“The research evidence, for example, clearly indicates that classroom performance is better in person than it is online,” Bushman said. “Group performance is better in person than online. Therapy sessions are better in person than they are online. And across the board, close relationships are better in person than online. So across many domains, there is a benefit to interacting with other people in person.”
Social media and technology let us talk instantly across cities, states and even continents. Screens may connect us, he said, but face-to-face interaction builds focus, engagement and learning in ways technology simply can’t replicate.
“Research has shown that when we’re in the presence of others we’re more physiologically aroused, like our heart rate and blood pressure increase,” Bushman said. “And what that also means is that we pay more attention as arousal increases. We pay more attention to what’s going on. So, we’re much more likely to zone out, for example, in a video call than we are in an actual conversation with the person.”
Bushman said it’s also easier to misunderstand people online or through social media, where important cues — tone, body language, facial expressions — are often lost. There’s also a darker side.
“And that is, people are much more likely to say negative things online compared to saying it to your face directly,” Bushman said.
While online communication can be helpful when people are separated by great distances, Bushman said there is no true substitute for being together in person when possible.
Various children and teenagers today have only known a digital-first world, making in-person interaction feel unfamiliar. The longer people wait to practice it, he said, the harder it becomes.
“Social media allows us to connect with people who are very far away and that’s great,” Bushman said. “The problem, I think, occurs when it replaces connections with people who are close. You lose something. Like, as you go from texting like “lol,” you know, there’s you know, people know that means “laugh out loud.” But there’s something very different from typing “lol” to laughing out loud. And research shows that laughing out loud is really beneficial. It can have some positive effects, but typing “lol” probably doesn’t have so many positive effects on people.”
Even brands are recognizing the value of in-person connection, increasingly prioritizing real-world experiences to build trust and lasting relationships.
Stacie Skinner, founder of Superb Bakehouse, said her business depends on human interaction.
“This is a human story that built a company, that started the business and so human interaction is so important for us because you can’t enjoy the aroma and the taste of a waffle through social media,” Skinner said. “So we’re all about engagement and talking to people, telling them our story in person and giving them the waffles to try.”
Annette Furio, the founder of Season Journals, said she plans to attend more in-person events in the new year. As the founder of a journaling brand, she said showing up can feel intimidating initially — much like journaling — but is often rewarding.
“I think once you get past that hump, especially if you’re an introvert like me, then you realize that you get out in the community and you actually enjoy it,” Furio said. “You feel better afterwards. You make new connections, you meet new people, maybe you see them again, and maybe you don’t. But it does something to you.”
It’s no secret that making friends as an adult isn’t easy. Schedules get packed. Comfort zones shrink, and showing up can feel awkward.
But as technology continues to grow, these humans said one thing remains true: nothing can replace an in-person hug, a shared laugh, a genuine smile or simply being with another human.
And our health — and our humanity — depends on it, too.
“I think if we lose the human connection, a lot of those things will just like, our society will just break down,” Lee said. “I feel like you need to have more connectivity to humans to understand one another. And just know what each other’s intentions are. You don’t get that over social media or over even a phone call. I think it’s really important to be with people and be present. Hearing them out, not just being able to turn it off or run away when things don’t go well or don’t go your way, Or aren’t what you want to hear. Being present in the moment and really having to listen to what someone is saying. Help them through a situation.”
While loneliness affects people of all ages, a report from the WHO shows young people ages 13 to 29 experience loneliness more than any other age group — despite often being perceived as the most connected.
Experts said modern life plays a role. Many young adults live with roommates they barely know. Childhood friends move away. Work shifts online.
Social media connections replace real-world relationships. These transitory life stages, combined with predominantly digital interaction, can intensify feelings of isolation.
As technology continues to reshape daily life, experts urge people to be brave, step away from the screen, put themselves out there and try to meet someone new.
“It scares me raising kids in a world where AI is taking over so much of what we see online, and it’s getting to a place where you know, a lot of the internet, is it AI? Is it real?,” Archibald said. “And so in-person events can’t be replaced. I feel like it’s something that we should all just push to be a little more social in our lives, because it’s good for us and it makes us good humans. And that’s one thing that AI can’t replace is just good humans. So learning to interact with each other and be with each other and, and you know, do all of those things is really super important to me. And I want to just keep that going.”
For more information about the Columbus Girl Gang visit here.