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Feeling Solitary

If the 21st century's making you feel miserable, there are at least seven reasons why. The article cites a study which shows a lot of people have one one they can confide in - further along there are references to yet more studies and depressing ones at that. David Wong has it exactly right when he talks about the demise of mass media contributing to the overwhelming din of dissenting voices. He says :

There effectively is no "mass media" any more so, where before we disagreed because we saw the same news and interpreted it differently, now we disagree because we're seeing completely different freaking news. When we can't even agree on the basic facts, the differences become irreconcilable. That constant feeling of being at bitter odds with the rest of the world brings with it a tension that just builds and builds.

In the pre-internet days, I remember having read the same article in a print magazine or newspaper that many of my friends and acquaintances had as well. We did have the same version of facts at our disposal to argue over. So while we might disagree on all counts over the issue at hand, we atleast agreed on what the issue was. Even that agreement is no longer possible with so many voices in the fray and as a result we are that much more solitary.

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