A Lonely Nation
Loneliness has become a chronic condition for millions in our country. One in three Americans report feeling lonely every week, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Half of those impacted report utilizing the digital world, like TV or social media, to ease their suffering. However, one can reasonably contend that technology itself has played a significant role in creating the epidemic of solitude that now plagues our nation.
Today, instead of turning to our friends and neighbors, we often turn on our phones and tablets. In fact, Pew Research found that a majority (57 percent) of modern Americans report only knowing some of their neighbors and only about a quarter (26 percent) of Americans indicate that they know most of them. As one would expect, older Americans are more likely than young Americans to know their neighbors: only 4 percent of adults 65 and older don’t know any of their neighbors, but roughly a quarter (23 percent) of those adults under the age of 30 don’t know any of their neighbors at all.
Rural residents are more likely (40 percent) than urban residents (24 percent) to know most of their neighbors, and married people are slightly more likely than unmarried people to know most their neighbors. However, parents and non-parents do not significantly differ in their relationship with neighbors. Thus, age appears to be one of the largest factors within the study.
This finding should not surprise us, given the increased use of technology per capita within our younger generations. In the digital age, someone may be more connected to an individual living halfway across the world, than the person living right next door to them.
Sociologists have noted the drastic decline in social interactions by Americans over the last 50 years. One researcher found that from 2003 to 2022, average face-to-face socializing for American adults declined by about 30 percent. This decline was even greater for unmarried Americans, at more than 35 percent, and for teenagers, at more than 45 percent.
Sadly, the pandemic poured gasoline on this fire. A survey commissioned by Newsweek found that 42 percent of American voters reported that they are "less sociable" than they were pre-pandemic, and a similar number (37 percent) believe that their friends are “less sociable.”
You do not need to be a psychologist or a sociologist to imagine the potential implications of this decline in socialization. The United States Surgeon General issued an advisory on the “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” last year. Plus, numerous researchers have discussed the negative impacts of the pandemic lockdowns on both adults and children, with some estimating that the effects could last a generation. Yet, this trend undoubtedly impacts our political and governmental institutions as well.
When neighborliness wanes and social interactions extend beyond geographical boundaries, several factors likely come into play.
First, I believe our democratic process can experience, what I will refer to as, “idea leakage.” The Framers created a system of federalism, whereby states could largely compete and act on their own interests and ideals. Unfortunately, our courts and our federal government has ventured far from the Constitution’s direction, growing the federal behemoth, and reducing the power our state governments. However, in the digital age, another factor might be contributing to the deterioration of our states’ independence, as laboratories of democracy.
Our beliefs and ideals can now cross city boundaries, state lines, country borders, and even thousands of miles of oceans in the blink of an eye. While I still believe the most impactful interactions for ideological persuasion are face to face, we cannot discount the enormous effect that digital technology has on our culture and our democratic process. It can be a powerful tool for good, but technology also ensures that the ideas found in the most liberal cities of our coasts, that are largely rejected here in the heartland, don’t need boots to walk into our communities. Bad ideas are bombarding us daily. That is why social media censorship is so dangerous – if you control the availability of information, a biased media will contribute to the homogenization of our heartland’s ideals – and likely not for the better.
Second, I think much evidence suggests that our conservative movement often trails behind the social infrastructure of the day. For example, our party committee systems are largely based on connections and communications within finite geographical boundaries – a mid-century model based on neighborly interaction, that often objectively struggles to communicate and engage with voters, who couldn’t even tell you the first name of the person they share a fence with.
Yet, we do have examples of pioneers of culture within the conservative movement. While President Obama was the first major presidential candidate to use social media to engage voters on a large scale, President Trump transformed the political landscape by using social media platforms as a campaign tactic to push back against a media that was (and still is) largely unfavorable to his candidacy. His current campaign illustrates his power to outperform in traditionally difficult demographics thanks to his ability to tap into pop-culture and speak directly to voters.
My point in stating these factors is not to say that we have to rethink everything as conservatives, but instead, to suggest we can’t just do nothing as a movement if we want to survive and thrive. The good news is that one of the best steps we can take does not involve collective action, but simply personal character.
Neighborliness is a fundamental component of conservatism.
If we, as human beings, cannot rely on our family, friends, and neighbors when times are tough, then who are we likely to fall back on? If our trust in our fellow man declines, who then are we likely to trust? We all know that, for most, the answer is government. In fact, I think too many conservative officials today fall into the trap of turning to government to fix every problem, when we should be looking to our churches, our families, and our neighbors for solutions.
If citizens witness a declining reliance on our fellow man, they will be less likely to believe in the idea that anyone, but the government, can be counted on. All the best history books, the most effective economic arguments, and the most resounding presentations cannot overpower what a man sees with his own eyes, even if what he sees deceives him.
While it is a convicting idea – one that I need to reflect on myself – one of the most profound investments that you could ever make for the future of country, is quite simple: become the person that your neighbor believes the government could be.
Americans need to experience stronger churches, better neighbors, and stronger personal relationships within our communities. If they witness reliable, trustworthy, and compassionate people, I believe not only will they be less likely to feel the need to turn to the state, but I am convinced that eventually they will come to see government for what it can never be: an institution capable of recognizing you as an individual, who is loved and created by God with a unique purpose for being.
Our seemingly simple actions, as individuals, can play a small roll in beginning to halt the social tinkering that progressives have undertaken for the last hundred years. And beyond those personal behaviors, our movement can and must take a more long-term posture in the fight to protect our liberties and ideals, by not only engaging in the current democratic process, but planting seeds within culture and institutions that will bear fruit for generations to come.