Oral Content

Topic: Loneliness increase amongst U.S. millennials

Purpose: Describe and inform of the dangers relating to increases in loneliness

Thesis Statement: The increase in loneliness among U.S. millennials has serious and adverse effects relating to our society’s mental health, prosperity, and development.

Introduction

Attention Strategy/Orienting Material: 

If I were to ask you “what percentage of people do you think report feeling lonely in the U.S.,” what would you say? 10%? 20%? Maybe 40% at the most. As it turns out, over three-fifths, 61% of U.S. adults reported feeling lonely. If that statistic could apply to every U.S. adult, over 127 million of the current 209 million U.S. adult population, would report feeling lonely. That percentage is even higher for U.S. millennials at a staggering 71%, or 51 million of the current 72.1 million U.S. millennial population. All of this is from a study conducted by Cigna in 2019. We are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic.

It hasn’t always been like this. According to a separate study, in 2010, 35% of U.S. adults aged over 45 were lonely. Another survey done in 2010 including 8th, 10th, and 12th-graders, who are now millennials, showed that the percentage of them who often feel lonely sits at 23%. We can definitely see that there has been a sharp increase in loneliness over the past decade, but what does the increase imply for the rest of our country? Is loneliness a serious mental illness with detrimental side effects, or is it simply a state of being that most people can easily overcome?

Body

1. Main Idea – Loneliness is not a state of being, but a more complex state of mind.
   • Support – Loneliness causes people to feel empty, alone, and unwanted. People who are lonely often crave human contact, but their state of mind makes it more difficult to form connections with other people.
   • Support – For example, you could be surrounded by your family and friends on your birthday, but still may feel lonely due to the satisfaction that you are not receiving from others.
2. Main Idea – Loneliness is a serious chronic mental illness that has detrimental side effects.
   • Support – Researchers have discovered that lower levels of loneliness were correlated with high incomes, high education status, and higher rates of marriage.
3. Main Idea – Despite all the disagreements surrounding the origin of the shift and the shift’s main causes, most experts agree that the increase in loneliness among U.S. millennials will have adverse effects such as a decrease in productivity.
   • Support – According to one study, people who are lonely are worse at communicating with others and even perceive positive social interactions as negative ones. Communication plays a vital role in human life since it “helps to facilitate the process of sharing information and knowledge with others, but also helps people to develop relationships with others.” The ability to share information, knowledge, and develop relationships with others are some of the key factors that lead to progression in areas such as technology, politics, and science and a successful/thriving society. Without these abilities, our society is not able to succeed and flourish in areas that matter.

Conclusion

Concluding Remark: Will loneliness be the force that brings down humanity? Probably not. But, if loneliness continues to increase at the same rate, we will be in trouble. Thankfully, there are actions that can be done to help slow down the increase and hopefully even reverse it, and we already seeing some of these actions taking place. On Instagram, social media influencers and celebrities are helping to spread mental health awareness and support the idea of reaching out to those with mental illnesses, so we can better understand them. During President Obama’s last term, the mental health reform was passed, which increased access to mental health care and introduced many other benefits. With constant advancements in technology and science, we are better able to understand mental illnesses and care for them. Now, that doesn’t mean we should just sit back and let the authorities and scientists handle this. There are things that you can do right now to help fight this loneliness epidemic. One of the biggest things you can do and it’s what lonely people crave the most, is for you just to talk to them and understand how they’re feeling. And if you’ve been feeling lonely lately, then you should also try to seek help. A lot of people are in the same situation as you and you’re not alone.  At many times it might feel as though the world is falling apart with issues such as polarization in politics, climate change, racial injustice, and mental illness, but humanity has dealt with threatening issues before, and we will deal with them again.

 

Sources

https://www.verywellmind.com/loneliness-causes-effects-and-treatments-2795749

Most Helpful Feedback

I think the most helpful feedback was to include fewer statistics and facts and more analysis. Sometimes I can get caught up on just proving something with evidence and spend too little time actually analyzing and developing my arguments.

Most Interesting Discoveries

One of the most interesting discoveries I made was how badly loneliness can affect someone. Some scientists believe that loneliness is on the same level as smoking daily and obesity. To me, it is mind-blowing that a mental state of mind can have such detrimental and life-threatening effects on your actual physical being. I think the discoveries we are making about mental health are only the beginning and there are sadly probably way more harmful effects of poor mental health that we are not aware of.

 Significance of the Shift

I think the significance of the shift is fairly obvious. As I just discussed, loneliness is terrible for your mental health and actually decreases the average lifespan. The most important point for a reader to take away from this paper is to not downplay mental illnesses, whether that be loneliness, depression, or anything else. We must continue to shed light on mental illness and encourage those in need of help to reach out and others to check in on their friends and family.

How This Project Helped Me Develop as a Writer

I think the biggest thing that I learned from writing this paper is how to effectively use evidence to increase the validity of my arguments and analysis. So far, it’s the longest paper I’ve written so it helped me to better manage the space and amount of words that I’m using per paragraph. I’m also beginning to better understand how to actually make points and prove them. I feel like most of my high school writing was just random statements that loosely tied to the topic.

Intro

Hook–introduce the reader to the topic 

Since the beginning of the digital age, our society has been presented with many opportunities to further advance itself and increase our overall ease of living. We have seen huge advancements such as a large increase in automation, the ability to process information instantaneously, and a growth in online social connectivity which has led to surges in economic growth and productivity. These advancements have transformed a society that was once all about having to meet and communicate with people in person to one where we can just do most things from home. For a lot of people, this meant that the most in-person social aspects of their lives would be stripped away. Talking with people face-to-face has been replaced by texting. Sitting on the couch with your friends playing video games has been replaced by playing with each other online in your own homes. Even the most social aspect of a lot of peoples’ lives, work, has become less social since a lot of workplaces are allowing their employees to stay home. It is very apparent what tends to happen to people whenever they decrease the number of social interactions they have in their everyday lives. They become lonely.

Establish that a shift happened–point to evidence of the shift

In the last decade, there has been a shift in the percentage of people who feel lonely in the United States.

• As of 2019, 61% of Americans report feeling lonely (https://www.cigna.com/static/www-cigna-com/docs/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/cigna-2020-loneliness-factsheet.pdf).
• 79% of people from Gen Z report feeling lonely. 71% of Millenials report feeling lonely. 50% of Boomers report feeling lonely (https://www.cigna.com/static/www-cigna-com/docs/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/cigna-2020-loneliness-factsheet.pdf).
• Around 46% of men and 45% of women report feeling lonely (https://www.cigna.com/static/www-cigna-com/docs/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/cigna-2020-loneliness-factsheet.pdf).

Throughout the essay, I will be focusing on Millennials in the U.S. since we seem to have the best understanding of how loneliness is affecting Millennials.

Thesis: a declarative statement, an assertion, of what changed, and why the change matters.

In the past decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the feeling of loneliness experienced by U.S. Millenials which has been caused by an increasing digital addiction and can lead to poorer mental health, a more unproductive society,

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Body

(The body is broken down into three broad sections, but that does not mean that each section should only be one paragraph.)

 

A. “Literature review” or a review of the shift

1. Definitions (if necessary)

Loneliness – what does it mean to be lonely; how is it measured; what are the root causes of loneliness

1. Establish the before/after of the shift — make observations from primary texts i.e. speeches, popular culture, ads, TV shows, magazines, political discourse–debates, highbrow magazine articles (New Yorker, Harpers, Atlantic, etc.)

• Americans were no lonelier in the 1970s than in the 2000s (http://bostonreview.net/Fischer-loneliness-modern-culture)
• Loneliness spike from 2010 to 2020.
• Dr. Vivek H. Murthy noticed a loneliness epidemic before Covid-19. “When I look at how I spent my life over the last 10 years — where I put my time, energy and attention — it’s probably been much more on work than it has my family,” Murthy said (https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/health/loneliness-epidemic-coronavirus-healing-wellness/index.html)
• The humor of the Millennial generation consists mostly of self-deprecative humor. The “lonely generation” uses self-deprecating humor as a coping mechanism, a bad one, and to relate to other Millennials who feel the same way.

B. Analysis of Causes

1. What reasons do scholars give for the shift?

• A lack of social support and infrequent meaningful social interactions.
• Negative feelings about one’s personal relationships.
• Poor physical and mental health.
• A lack of “balance” in one’s daily activities – doing too much or too little of any given thing (e.g., sleep, work) (https://www.cigna.com/static/www-cigna-com/docs/about-us/newsroom/studies-and-reports/combatting-loneliness/cigna-2020-loneliness-factsheet.pdf)

• Digital addiction increases loneliness, anxiety, and depression. (sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180411161316.htm)

1. What evidence exists to support the analysis of the causes?

• A survey of 1,787 U.S. adults aged 19–32 years showed that those who used social media more frequently reported feeling more isolated than those who did not. (https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(17)30016-8/fulltext)]

C. Critique of the shift: What are scholars saying about the consequences/implications of the shift?

1. Possible questions to explore: Is there a consensus or disagreement about the implications of the shift?  What are the points of contention? What do these points of contention indicate? How might points of contention be resolved?

• Scholars agree that the shift is a bad thing.
• Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University believes that feeling lonely is on the same level of bad for your health as smoking obesity and physical inactivity (https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/loneliness-epidemic-consequences).
• Lonelier people are 32% more likely to die than people who are not lonely (https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/loneliness-epidemic-consequences).
• Although, it is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why being lonely leads to a shorter life on average. Some researchers believe it is because surrounding yourself with people “who encourage you to make healthy choices, such as keeping doctor’s appointments, eating right, and taking medications” can lead to a longer and healthier life.

1. Possible questions to explore, continued: What is the greater significance of the shift? Why does this shift ultimately matter?

• A society with increasing numbers of lonely people is a society that cannot further advance and succeed.

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Conclusion

Resolve the discussion

The “loneliness epidemic” that has plagued U.S. Millenials has developed fairly recently and has serious and harmful implications.

Possible conclusion: suggest opportunities for further study on the issue (i.e. will the trend continue or morph into something else? What could the something else be?)

It seems as though the loneliness is not decreasing and the social isolation due to Covid has not helped with the issue in any way. As humans become more and more interested and involved with their smart devices, the loneliness will only become more severe.

Chosen Focus

The shift from communicating in person and hanging out with people in person to communicating online and hanging out with people online. Over the past decade, there has been a huge shift from communicating in-person to communicating online in people from Generation Z. This can be seen through many programs such as Discord, Twitch, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. It has many serious implications and has caused serious mental harm in teenagers and young 20-year-olds.

Boundaries

• Last decade
• First world countries
• Mainly Generation Z, but also Millenials (rarely other generations)

The Story I Seek to Tell

In this essay, I aim to show how in the last decade people of Generation Z have become lonelier more than ever. I aim to show the reasons for this increase in loneliness, what life was like before this increase, what life is like during this increase, the implications of this increase, and why this is important to our society as a whole.

What Makes This Paradigm Shift Important?

For one, I have been a victim of this increase in loneliness and I’m sure many of my fellow students have noticed it as well. Zoomers are at one point or another going to be the generation with the most power/prominence, so it will be interesting how this loneliness affects that.

 

Planet Fitness TV Commerical, ‘Mirror Guy’

 

Major Proposition

In this speech, I will be attempting to show how the Planet Fitness ‘Mirror Guy’ frames the civic. I will be showing how the ‘Mirror Guy’ represents our narcissistic nature and how overly concerned we are with our appearance.

A Kairotic Moment

In this day and age, with social media, influencers, and reality tv, society is more focused on the physical appearance of someone more than anything else. This Planet Fitness tv commercial takes advantage of this specific time, by highlighting our society’s problems. The commercial introduces a character, the ‘Mirror Guy,’ in an attempt to showcase how our society is more concerned with ourselves and the physical nature of our bodies.

Ideologies

At the core of this artifact, the ideology that your physical appearance matters the most and everyone else cares about your physical appearance, when in reality, that is not true. The largest commonplace found in the artifact is the large and well-defined muscles. Although a percentage of people pursue these large and well-defined muscles for themselves, a different large percentage also pursues these muscles because they wish to look good for others and impress people.

Evidence

The largest piece of evidence that I will use is social media and influencers. I will show the trend of social media over time and how more and more people are either following extremelly “attractive” influencers/people or they are posting more and more revealing pictures of themselves. I will also be looking for other studies done on the millenial and z generations.

 

Obsolete, but Not Forgotten

The vinyl record may be an outdated medium, but at one point it was a booming industry and common household object.

Who “Made” It?

The vinyl LP record first made its commercial appearance in 1931 through RCA Victor. It soon became a hit for all musicians and music lovers everywhere due to its relatively easy-to-use nature and affordability. Before the vinyl record, there had been no “easy” way to consume music in your own home which is why the demand for vinyl was so high when it was commercially viable. It was a huge step for the music industry as it allowed many artists to get their music into the hands of the people.

Change Over Time

The demand for vinyl drastically decreased as easier audio formats (CD, MP3, streaming) were released to the public, but the demand has seen a not so small increase in the past decade as more and more people want physical copies of their favorite music. Back in the 1900s, vinyl meant, for most people, just another way to listen to music, but the meaning has changed over time and now vinyl means having a piece of what you love and the nostalgia and memories that come with it.

Commonplaces Within Vinyl

Within the community of vinyl, many people share a lot of the same ideas. The overall high quality of the vinyl itself is what many vinyl enthusiasts agree is what they struggle to achieve the most. Whether that’s making sure the record is clean, making sure it’s a good pressing, or having an extremely expensive, and maybe unnecessary, record player, a lot of vinyl enthusiasts strive to get the highest quality of noise out of their records.

Vinyl and the Civic

Vinyl records teach us a lot about how humans lived and still live today. It’s a good representation of our society’s keenness to quality and high standards. It also shows our society’s craving for entertainment and the lengths at which we will go to acquire the best.

 

 

#1 Party School

The This American Life Podcast is a podcast that focuses on journalism, but an “entertaining kind of journalism that’s built around plot.” An episode from December 18, 2009, titled “#1 Party School” showcases the number one party school named by The Princeton Review at the time, Penn State! The episode represents the commonplaces and ideologies found throughout Penn State and the largest one is partying.

Commonplaces and Ideologies

The largest commonplaces that makeup the partying ideology are alcohol, tailgating, sex, pregaming, drugs, and many other popular things that helped Penn State earn its place as the number one party school. These commonplaces can be found all over campus from the dorm halls to the frat houses, to anywhere else kids can consume alcohol without being caught. The most widespread and habitual of all the commonplaces would have to be alcohol. Whether it’s out of a solo cup at your friend’s small apartment or out of a keg while some kid does a handstand on top, alcohol is the life of the party and is what brings so many students together every single night.

The Dark Side of Alcohol

Surprisingly enough, it’s not all fun and games. The drinking problem at Penn State has probably led to more bad things than good. Plenty of nights up at Penn State that involves alcohol end up with some rather negative commonplaces such as students suffering from alcohol poisoning, students being victims of sexual harassment, and lots of laws being broken. Most students at Penn State can name one or many regrets they have from doing something stupid after a night of drinking. 

All Hopes Not Lost

There is no debate that Penn State has a drinking problem, but not all hope is lost. Most of the issues arise from peer pressure and expectations. If the students at Penn State can eliminate common expectations to party hard and live by the cup, then we wouldn’t be so bad after all.