You Can’t You Fake Your Way Out of Loneliness

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Have you ever walked into a room filled with people and felt overwhelming loneliness?

If so, you understand that the presence of people does not equate to a feeling of connectedness. Instead, it can underscore a lack thereof.

Other relationships that are considered to have a default sense of closeness can give you that same feeling of isolation. These could be friendships, family bonds, and even romantic relationships.

The bitter pill to swallow is that having people in your life does not automatically proffer to you the necessary emotional intimacy that you need as a person. It’s the same reason why you can’t really tell how many true friends or actual support someone has from viewing their social media presence. Even if that person shows their wide, glistening smile and is flanked by jovial-faced others, that doesn’t guarantee that they have the requisite intimacy in their lives.

Studies show that this lack of intimacy is prevalent in Americans, especially younger generations. In a Cigna study, almost 80% of Gen Z respondents reported loneliness, compared to 50% of Boomers.

So why is that?

It’s because society tells us to don personas, or public-facing images, based on the context. Context is complicated. It’s often the intersection of…