{"id":196285,"date":"2026-01-09T15:43:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/why-we-are-more-disconnected-in-a-todays-digital-world-spectrum-news\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:43:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:43:46","slug":"why-we-are-more-disconnected-in-a-todays-digital-world-spectrum-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/why-we-are-more-disconnected-in-a-todays-digital-world-spectrum-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we are more disconnected in a today's digital world – Spectrum News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s the modern paradox \u2014 we\u2019re more connected than ever before. Yet, somehow, we\u2019ve 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\u2019t 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. 
\u201cI\u2019ve 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,\u201d Lee said. \u201cYou\u2019re really in a silo when you work from home.\u201d 
The World Health Organization now calls loneliness a global epidemic and a major public health concern. A report<\/a> 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.
\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Archibald said. \u201cIt\u2019s like hard to have time to find friends and then like, how do you do that? It\u2019s like dating. Like, where do you even find these friends?\u201d
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.
\u201cWe 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\u2019t feel weird or forced,\u201d Archibald said. \u201cBecause of social media. I\u2019m a mom. I\u2019m raising kids. It\u2019s weird. It\u2019s a different world than I grew up in. And social connection was so important. I\u2019m like a salesperson by nature and so it\u2019s 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\u2019s great. It\u2019s a great way to build conversation and community.\u201d
Research shows strong social connections do more than boost happiness \u2014 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 \u2014 academically, socially, and emotionally.
He recently completed a comprehensive review of the topic across multiple domains.
\u201cThe research evidence, for example, clearly indicates that classroom performance is better in person than it is online,\u201d Bushman said. \u201cGroup 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.\u201d
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\u2019t replicate.
\u201cResearch has shown that when we\u2019re in the presence of others we\u2019re more physiologically aroused, like our heart rate and blood pressure increase,\u201d Bushman said. \u201cAnd what that also means is that we pay more attention as arousal increases. We pay more attention to what\u2019s going on. So, we\u2019re much more likely to zone out, for example, in a video call than we are in an actual conversation with the person.\u201d 
Bushman said it\u2019s also easier to misunderstand people online or through social media, where important cues \u2014 tone, body language, facial expressions \u2014 are often lost. There\u2019s also a darker side. 
\u201cAnd that is, people are much more likely to say negative things online compared to saying it to your face directly,\u201d 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.
\u201cSocial media allows us to connect with people who are very far away and that\u2019s great,\u201d Bushman said. \u201cThe problem, I think, occurs when it replaces connections with people who are close. You lose something. Like, as you go from texting like \u201clol,\u201d you know, there\u2019s you know, people know that means \u201claugh out loud.\u201d But there\u2019s something very different from typing \u201clol\u201d to laughing out loud. And research shows that laughing out loud is really beneficial. It can have some positive effects, but typing \u201clol\u201d probably doesn\u2019t have so many positive effects on people.\u201d
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. 
\u201cThis is a human story that built a company, that started the business and so human interaction is so important for us because you can\u2019t enjoy the aroma and the taste of a waffle through social media,\u201d Skinner said. \u201cSo we\u2019re all about engagement and talking to people, telling them our story in person and giving them the waffles to try.\u201d
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 \u2014 much like journaling \u2014 but is often rewarding.
\u201cI think once you get past that hump, especially if you\u2019re an introvert like me, then you realize that you get out in the community and you actually enjoy it,\u201d Furio said. \u201cYou feel better afterwards. You make new connections, you meet new people, maybe you see them again, and maybe you don\u2019t. But it does something to you.\u201d 
It\u2019s no secret that making friends as an adult isn\u2019t 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 \u2014 and our humanity \u2014 depends on it, too.  
\u201cI think if we lose the human connection, a lot of those things will just like, our society will just break down,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI feel like you need to have more connectivity to humans to understand one another. And just know what each other\u2019s intentions are. You don\u2019t get that over social media or over even a phone call. I think it\u2019s 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\u2019t go well or don\u2019t go your way, Or aren\u2019t 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.\u201d
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 \u2014 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. 
\u201cIt scares me raising kids in a world where AI is taking over so much of what we see online, and it\u2019s getting to a place where you know, a lot of the internet, is it AI? Is it real?,\u201d Archibald said. \u201cAnd so in-person events can\u2019t be replaced. I feel like it\u2019s something that we should all just push to be a little more social in our lives, because it\u2019s good for us and it makes us good humans. And that\u2019s one thing that AI can\u2019t 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.\u201d
For more information about the Columbus Girl Gang visit here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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