Secolul al XXI-lea – un veac al însingurării?
The 21st Century – A Century of Loneliness?

Summary/Abstract: The present study analyzes the problem of loneliness as a contemporary disease. Referring to a true “economy” and an “industry of loneliness”, to a “global crisis of loneliness”, the specialists appreciate that it is based on the neoliberal ideology, which emphasizes individual development, personal good, without sensitivity or concern for community and social values. The fear of others comes together, in many situations, with a state of sadness or depression, one of its forms being a negative perspective on the world and on the future, on relationships. There are more and more countries, paradoxically among the richest financially, in which more than half of the society declare that they feel alone and they do not even have a friend to turn to for advice or comfort. The place of best friends is taken by surrogates: television, digital social networks, various addictions. Loneliness, according to recent research, in addition to affecting the behavior of the sufferer, affects the level of stress hormones, the immune system and cardiovascular function, which lead millions of people to a premature death. The same analysts of these psychological and spiritual realities have noticed that digital technology and especially social networks, which promise to put people in constant contact, have exacerbated and aggravated this feeling of loneliness. The way to regain the harmony of the soul is to rediscover the authentic values of a deep spiritual life, a life built on values, not on riches. In our relationship with our “neighbor” or “fellow man”, the way out of “anxiety” or “social phobia” is to cultivate love and forgiveness, compassion and appreciation.

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