The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That’s Pulling Apart

Economist Hertz (Generation K) explores how to solve “today’s loneliness crisis” in this thought-provoking yet scattershot account. Modern-day loneliness, according to Hertz, “incorporates how disconnected we feel from politicians and politics, how cut off we feel from our work and our workplace, how excluded many of us feel from society’s gains, and how powerless, invisible and voiceless so many of us feel ourselves to be.” She notes that 20% of U.S. millennials “say they have no friends at all,” and shares evidence that Japanese senior citizens are committing crimes in order to find companionship, care, and support in prison. Blaming digital technology, urbanization, and neoliberal economic policies that widened the wealth gap and weakened government protections, Hertz examines the links between loneliness and physical illness, right-wing politics, and the rise of workplace surveillance technologies. Her solutions include stabilizing rental costs so people can establish roots in their communities, investing in public spaces, and “reinstituting a formal lunch break” so workers can “break bread together.” Hertz touches on many important issues, but explores few of them in-depth, and doesn’t fully address how cultural and geographic differences might impact perceptions of loneliness around the world. This intermittently intriguing analysis needs a sharper focus. (Feb.)