The Negative Consequences of Social Isolation
Social isolation is a term used to describe the absence of social contacts in a person’s life. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term loneliness even though they do not carry similar meanings. For instance, a person can feel lonely even when in a crowd, but they will not be said to be socially isolated. A person can be said to be socially isolated when the number of people in his or her life can be counted, and where loneliness is the subjective experience of such isolation. There are a number of factors that can trigger social isolation, such as health issues, unemployment, or loss of mobility. Additionally, social isolation is characterized by factors such as have little to no communication with acquaintances, family, and friends, having no access to community involvement or services, etc. different experts who have studied the concept of social isolation are divided on whether it beneficial or not. For example, some argue that being isolated can boost one’s creativity, improve relationships, and even improve memory and concentration. Numerous other experts have also argued that being socially isolated can be detrimental to one’s wellbeing in a number of ways. This essay argues that social isolation has negative consequences on human lives, and three reasons will be provided in support of this position. First, social isolation endangers people’s health. Second, it reduces the ability of people to deal with stressful situations. Third, social isolation can lead to high mortality.
Social Isolation Negatively Affects our Health
Social isolation can negatively affect the physical and mental health of individuals. Numerous research works have established that loneliness – which stems from being isolated – increases the chances of people being depressed, and it is also associated with other conditions such as weak immune systems, cognitive decline, heart problems, and poor quality of sleep. Human beings have, for thousands of years, been social creatures, and social isolation can have negative impacts on their health. Our body systems, including biological, psychological, and social, are all built around interactions with others and around social groups. Therefore, being socially isolated can bring feelings of loneliness, depression, and even anxiety. When people are isolated, they experience poor sleep patterns, they have unhealthy lifestyles, and they experience extreme stress levels, experiences which are less likely to occur when people are not socially isolated. A growing body of research also suggests that the risk of stroke and coronary artery disease increases when people are socially isolated. Today, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many people to practice social isolation or social distancing as a way of protecting themselves from being infected. However, many people have been physically and psychologically affected. The social isolation or distancing necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic has made many people around the globe experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, and other forms of mental conditions. From these examples, therefore, it becomes obvious that social isolation has far-reaching consequences on the physical and mental health of people.
Social Isolation Inhibits Ability to Deal with Stress
Another negative consequence of being socially isolated is that it limits the ability of people to deal with stress. As explained above, isolation increases anxiety and stress levels, meaning that dealing with these two byproducts of isolation is not possible when people are alone. This means that socialization is a very important component when it comes to dealing with stress. Online chatting, meeting in groups, joining clubs, etc. can decrease loneliness, stress, and anxiety while at the same time promoting feelings of enjoyment, security, and safety. But when people are isolated from other people in society, they feel insecure, they feel lonelier, and they lack a sense of belonging. Numerous studies indicate that with adequate socialization, oxytocin levels in our bodies increase; oxytocin is a hormone that helps us feel calm and decreases our anxiety and stress levels. Additionally, oxytocin stimulates people’s desire to seek out social contacts and increases their chances of being attached to other people. When people are socially isolated, their bodies produce lower oxytocin levels, which translate to more anxiety, more stress, inability to cope with stressful situations, and lack of interest in making social contacts. Socialization enables people to be channel their energy inwards instead of channeling it inwards. When people are focused on making contact with other people, they get distracted from their stressful and painful situations. The reason for this is that friends, family members, and acquaintances can offer each other moral support during stressful situations.
Social Isolation Causes Premature Death
It is also a fact that social isolation can lead to high mortality. Numerous studies exist that suggest that premature deaths can increase with social isolation. There are two ways in which social isolation can cause early or premature deaths. First, it makes people develop health conditions that can lead to an early death. Second, when people are unable to deal with their stress after being isolated or after isolating themselves from society, they can take their lives. When people are socially connected, they show less inflammation. But when people become more isolated and lonely, they exhibit increased chronic inflammation, a condition that is associated with numerous chronic illnesses. Additionally, social isolation increases cardiovascular conditions such as heart rates, blood pressure; these conditions can make people die before time. When people become more stressed because of being socially isolated, they can even take their own lives if they cannot deal with their stressful situations. Many people around the globe have committed suicide after isolating themselves from society. This, there are more benefits that people get when they attach themselves to others. to avoid illnesses that can bring them early death, or avoid stressful situations that can drive them to kill themselves or to contemplate suicide, people should try to be more socially involved by building relationships in society.
Refutation Claims
Despite numerous studies pointing to the fact that social isolation detrimental, some experts claim that being isolated can be beneficial in some ways. For instance, they claim that people who work alone have magnetic memories, and they have improved concentration levels. They argue that when working in groups, people are less motivated to remember or pay attention to important information because they count on others to fill the gaps (social loafing). This claim is based on the assumption that working alone increases one’s attention, and that it improves the ability for people to retain and remember information. Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence that working in groups actually improves one’s memory and ability to be attentive. When people engage in groups, they exchange ideas and information, and in the process, what they share gets imprinted in their long term memory. The claim that working in isolation increases one’s memory is, therefore, not entirely true. While there are some individuals who excel when working in isolation, increasing evidence suggests that working with others triggers people to pay more attention and remember more information.
There is also another claim that working in isolation boosts one’s creativity and that people who work in isolation are more innovative. This claim is also false because collaborative brainstorming can generate new ideas that people can leverage. When people work together, they are inspired to learn and thrive together, and they can work together to generate solutions to problems. Teamwork activities also maximize the chances of people learning from one another. But when people work alone, their knowledge is limited because they only have one way of doing things. This means that by working in groups as opposed to working in isolation, people tend to learn new ways of solving problems, and they have access to a pool of knowledge and information.
Conclusion
The focus of this essay was to explain the negative consequences of people being socially isolated. As discussed above, being socially isolated can affect our lives in numerous ways. For instance, isolation affects us health-wise because when we distance ourselves from other members of society, we increase our chances of stress, heart disease, among other conditions. Additionally, social isolation decreases our ability to deal with stressful situations, and it can also result in premature mortality. But when we socialize and make connections with other people, we reduce our vulnerability to disease, we boost our ability to deal with stressful situations, and we also reduce our chances of early death. While some studies have pointed out that isolation can be good in some ways, such as explained above, strong and increasing evidence argues against people being socially isolated or doing things alone.
Works Cited