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Summary: if you don’t have enough friends and feel lonely you have no-one to blame but yourself. You didn’t value the forming of bonds enough; you didn’t put in enough effort; you didn’t try hard enough. Fix it by trying harder.
My thoughts:
They mention covid as a scapegoat. These problems are much older than covid. Covid is just a scapegoat just like every other time it’s blamed for something.
The forging of social bonds is natural. It shouldn’t be something you have to put a lot of work and effort into in order to maintain. That it does require so much effort needs to be addressed in a meaningful way. It isn’t. The difficulty is taken for granted.
All of their videos end on a hopeful note. It’s just there to make you feel better for a second or two. It’s putting all the blame on the individual and providing simple solutions that make everything feel so easy. All you have to do is take this pill. When that simple prescription doesn’t work you’ve already internalized that it’s you who is to blame.
People are stressed out, exhausted, paranoid, and deeply psychologically damaged in so many ways. There is no easy solution. I’ve seen so many of my own friends go down hill; I’m sure you have too. A lot of people have developed anxiety disorders verging on the extreme. There are no easy solutions.
I have to disagree with your first two points, at least partially. There are a lot of people for whom covid has had an isolating effect. My own friend circle has almost completely stopped having routine get-togethers like potlucks. I think we’ve all gotten in the habit of reclusion.
This brings me to your second point: social bonds do take work. Sometimes they happen ‘naturally’, but it is almost always a consequence of time spent together (family, work, etc). If you aren’t spending a lot of time around other people, you’ll need to put in effort to change that. And you also sometimes need to make an effort to maintain your friendships. I’ve improved relationships with some family members over the last few years, just by making a conscious effort to call more often.
I don’t have anything to add to your third point, since I’m not familiar with these videos. I do fully agree with your last point, and I agree that this makes everything, including relationships harder. I would just add that the isolation of covid has exacerbated these mental health issues for many people, myself included.
Summary: if you don’t have enough friends and feel lonely you have no-one to blame but yourself. You didn’t value the forming of bonds enough; you didn’t put in enough effort; you didn’t try hard enough. Fix it by trying harder.
My thoughts:
I have to disagree with your first two points, at least partially. There are a lot of people for whom covid has had an isolating effect. My own friend circle has almost completely stopped having routine get-togethers like potlucks. I think we’ve all gotten in the habit of reclusion.
This brings me to your second point: social bonds do take work. Sometimes they happen ‘naturally’, but it is almost always a consequence of time spent together (family, work, etc). If you aren’t spending a lot of time around other people, you’ll need to put in effort to change that. And you also sometimes need to make an effort to maintain your friendships. I’ve improved relationships with some family members over the last few years, just by making a conscious effort to call more often.
I don’t have anything to add to your third point, since I’m not familiar with these videos. I do fully agree with your last point, and I agree that this makes everything, including relationships harder. I would just add that the isolation of covid has exacerbated these mental health issues for many people, myself included.