I am the oldest of the 2000s: I was born in February 2003. Until I wrote this article, I still felt a deep sense of loneliness in my heart. And I have also done an online survey. At least in the limited scope of the dozens of people I surveyed, the vast majority of the 2000s told me that they felt overwhelming loneliness most of the time. So I tentatively judged that the 2000s generation is likely to be a generation of loneliness until death.

Sense of isolation caused by smartphones

Looking at our parents, that is, the generation born in the 1970s and 1980s, they grew up with their brothers, sisters and friends in the neighborhood. Because the culture of visiting neighbors is still very popular, our parents rarely feel lonely. Although their memories of childhood are full of the simplicity unique to that era, their mental state seems to be much better than our 2000s. Why is this?

Compared to our parents, one of the biggest variables in our environment is: smartphones.

The post-00s generation grew up with smartphones. In the eyes of the post-00s generation, the absence of the Internet is like the absence of electricity, which makes them feel that life is worse than death. From childhood to adulthood, the closest companions of the post-00s generation are not their parents, brothers and girlfriends, but Internet devices. Smart devices such as laptops, gaming laptops, tablets and smartphones occupy most of our time except for sleeping and going to school.

Spending more time online naturally means spending less time offline. Some of my friends have already suffered from social phobia because of their constant use of smartphones. They dare to say anything on the Internet, but they dare not say anything in real life. For them, the Internet is their main life line, and the real world is just their secondary survival line, which is only responsible for their food, drink, defecation and urination.

This kind of people definitely accounts for a considerable proportion of the post-00s generation. We can also get a glimpse of this from the rise of online voice software and short video software. The main user group of software such as Douyin is the post-00s generation. Why do the post-00s spend the most time on Douyin compared to other age groups? To put it bluntly, loneliness! Because they dare not communicate with real people offline, they only dare to show up online. But people's social needs are fixed and will not change because of personal will. Therefore, in order to alleviate their social needs, they naturally use software such as Douyin. The underlying logic here is actually the logic of craving for care.

The phenomenon of only children leads to extreme loneliness

The post-00s are a generation born between 2000 and 2009, and during this period, the country implemented a one-child policy. Therefore, the vast majority of the post-00s are only children. The arrival of smartphones has greatly separated the distance between people, and the environment of only children has made this worse. Unlike the older generation, the post-00s have grown up alone since childhood, which means that they lack the spirit of brotherhood and unity and cooperation. This is why many post-00s often feel extremely shy and uncomfortable when doing group activities.

Growing up alone further deepens the 00s' dependence on smartphones. This slowly forms a vicious circle: because of the lack of love in their hearts, they are addicted to smartphones. And because of their addiction to smartphones, their social skills will continue to deteriorate. And because of their continuous deterioration of social skills, they dare not raise their heads in reality. So, they become more and more addicted to smartphones...

China's high-pressure education exacerbates loneliness

At the same time, China's high-pressure education model has directly promoted the autism of most 00s.

Many parents of 00s are eager for their children to succeed, so they enroll them in various tutoring classes. Some people even have to do homework until the early morning since elementary school. Under such great pressure, the hearts of 00s will be full of resentment for being forced to study by their parents. Combined with the two factors I mentioned above, a pessimistic result is finally obtained: if it is allowed to develop, the 00s may die of loneliness!

However, awareness is often the first step to change. If you really feel very lonely, the most important thing is not to reflect deeply, but to immediately break through your comfort zone and try to interact with others.

We are still young, as long as we are aware of the problem, I believe we can solve our loneliness cancer!