Christmas in a time of loneliness

In this age of extreme interconnectivity – where anything that happens can become known to all on the planet but also leave most of us indifferent – it is hard to reconcile the message of Christmas with the chronic loneliness that plagues our societies, especially among the young.

Uncertainty and the sense that relations among us are not what we hoped for in life can lead to apathy and loneliness.

These days, when family and friends gather in brightly decorated rooms to celebrate the message of hope and renewal symbolized by Christ’s birth and the turning of time, many who live alone, many who are far from their homes and loved ones, will have the pain of loneliness as their companion. But many who are among others, too, may feel lonely at the family table, in public gatherings. One doesn’t need to be alone to feel the lack of companionship or the absence of meaning in whatever they do. In recent years, we all faced the shock of the pandemic, economic difficulties and high prices, the climate crisis, war in Ukraine and the Middle East. There is an ever-growing sense that no government, no power, can manage the dangers that surround us.

Uncertainty and the sense that relations among us are not what we hoped for in life can lead to apathy and loneliness. And this is evident among young people. Recent research by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that 57 percent of Europeans aged 18-35 feel loneliness (from moderate to severe). This is higher than what older people report (a still significant 47 percent). The research found that the lower the education level, the higher the presence of loneliness, but there are many other factors at play, too. Greece was not among the countries surveyed. However, EU research in 2021-22 found that the Greeks were among the nations with the highest percentage of severe loneliness (over 15 percent of those surveyed), along with Ireland, Bulgaria and Luxembourg. In research published last year as part of the World Health Organization’s report on Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, Greece’s University Mental Health Research Institute found that 17.1 percent of teenagers feel lonely. 

The EU, the WHO, various research foundations, institutes and polls describe the problem, investigate its causes and propose solutions. All of this is most valuable. Loneliness, though, is everyone’s business. If we do not suffer ourselves, we know someone who does. And we don’t need research to understand that what we can do is to see them, to hear each other with kindness and interest. We need to restart inactive links between us, our greatest gift being the better part of ourselves.