Socially Disconnected, The Trend Toward Loneliness

Zoom Webinar

Loneliness is a phenomenon sweeping many societies and demographic segments of the global population in the 21st century. Young people from Asia and the West are increasingly feeling societal and family pressure to settle down, get married and have a family at a time when it’s becoming more and more difficult to find a compatible partner.

Changes to brain function from popular online and offline addictive activities may be contributing to being “un-loved”. In addition, job and financial pressures are contributing to some young people’s desire to “lay flat”, while others are working so hard to pay off bills and student loans they have no time to be in committed relationships.

Are lonely people fatalistic about the world having grown up with a generation broken families or are they simply refusing to live the traditional lives of their parents? How has the popularity of social media reinforced or altered the loneliness stereotype or has it helped lonely people to connect? And why are dating apps and reality television programs about singles partnering up more popular than ever across the globe when people are more un-loved than ever before?

Join our University of Chicago Associate Professor of Psychology Greg J. Norman as he discusses how loneliness can alter the brain from a neuroscience perspective and what we can do to feel more personally connected in today’s world.

September 8, 2022
8:30 pm    Hong Kong | Beijing | Singapore
6:00 pm    Delhi
2:30 pm    Paris
1:30 pm     London 
7:30 am    Chicago
9:30 pm    Japan | South Korea

Speakers

Greg J. Norman
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
The University of Chicago

Moderator

Mark Barnekow (MBA’88)
Executive Director
The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong

About Director’s Pick

From current news, STEM, to arts and history, The University of Chicago Hong Kong Campus Faculty Director and Executive Director share a broad range of interests. The Director’s Pick series catalogs an array of webinars covering various topics that our directors wish to share with our audience. Read More