The High Cost of Social Isolation

I think we are becoming a lonely society. Fueled largely by the ease online shopping and the constant advertising showing us just how much better life is on the couch.....are we just swallowing what they are telling us, hook, line and sinker - and forgetting to think for ourselves? I'm not going to post some graphic here with a blanket statement saying people are lonely because they buy online. I do however, believe there is a distinct possibility that "advances in technology" and "one-click options" are not as helpful (or healthy) for our state of mind, as getting out and interacting with one another.

  
Does that make local shopping a valuable activity one can fight social isolation with? Of course no one can say that nor is there a way to measure such a thing, however, at one time, not so many years ago, we DID get out and talk to each other more, strike up impromptu conversations in line at the grocery store or deli counter. Did those interactions or running into an old friend or somewhat distant neighbor create casual opportunities for interaction and communication - the type of connections I think many of us are now noticing as absent from our lives?

We have changed so much - too much, perhaps - as a society, and I can't help but see a correlation between technology being applauded for it's "time saving" attributes - while at the same time, we have people sitting home who rarely come out or interact with others at all. Just because it CAN be done does not mean it's a good thing, but consumers appear to have taken the bait and accepted relentless marketing campaigns which keep telling us that staying home on our couches is a far better way to live. I don't agree.

Go Independent, Shop Small (Anywhere USA) began as a love affair with locally owned businesses and the people that operate them. Join us as "Live Local USA" on our social networks and help spread the message that small business STILL matters.