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

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

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-02-04 04:19:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Noreena Hertz
  • ISBN：9780593135839
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Editor Reviews

11/16/2020

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。）

Publishers Weekly

Reviews

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Lim Yaner ，

Boring and repetitive

Max Bridger ，

I really enjoyed this book as I have an interest in both my local community， and older peoples' want for the past and specifically the 'good old days'。The Lonely Century is full of amazing， shocking and sometimes unbelievable facts， and due to this just under half the book is references！ But the content is still plentiful and more than sufficient to detail the ways in which community has been eroded Worldwide in the last 50 years， and the issues this is presenting for us all。Noreena also details I really enjoyed this book as I have an interest in both my local community， and older peoples' want for the past and specifically the 'good old days'。The Lonely Century is full of amazing， shocking and sometimes unbelievable facts， and due to this just under half the book is references！ But the content is still plentiful and more than sufficient to detail the ways in which community has been eroded Worldwide in the last 50 years， and the issues this is presenting for us all。Noreena also details ways she feels would be fitting to combat this pandemic of isolation， as well as highlighting successful efforts from people， governments and some businesses （like Cisco） to revitalise community spirit and genuine interactions。 So although some of the reading is quite depressing， it also serves as a manual of ideas to help us come back together， in an age where social media and neoliberal policies have been increasingly pulling us apart。 。。。more

Giovanna Walker ，

Wow。 Helps explain why people 'go down the rabbit hole'， the digital whip at work， neoliberalism， hostile architecture， sex with robots。。。yep， covers A LOT。 I found it quite pertinent with all the political chaos in the US at the moment。 Also hones in to a local level and what you can do as an individual， as well as suggestions for the role of government。 A bit scary and also optimistic at the same time。 I'd definitely recommend。 The writing is not academic （which some of these books can be） eve Wow。 Helps explain why people 'go down the rabbit hole'， the digital whip at work， neoliberalism， hostile architecture， sex with robots。。。yep， covers A LOT。 I found it quite pertinent with all the political chaos in the US at the moment。 Also hones in to a local level and what you can do as an individual， as well as suggestions for the role of government。 A bit scary and also optimistic at the same time。 I'd definitely recommend。 The writing is not academic （which some of these books can be） even though there are over 100 pages of references。。。now THAT'S comprehensive research！ 。。。more

Varghese Winny ，

A book of true significance at these times。Thanks to Noreena Hertz for sharing the great insights。

Joe Bathelt ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 In this book， the author paints a disturbing picture of how we have collectively grown more and more isolated。 As the book highlights， this can not be reduced to any one factor but is caused by multiple influences ranging from our appropriate fear of infection in recent months， our preference to stay in the bubbles created by our digital devices， to political forces that shape our lifestyle like increasing housing prices that force people to move more often。 At times， this makes for uncomfortabl In this book， the author paints a disturbing picture of how we have collectively grown more and more isolated。 As the book highlights， this can not be reduced to any one factor but is caused by multiple influences ranging from our appropriate fear of infection in recent months， our preference to stay in the bubbles created by our digital devices， to political forces that shape our lifestyle like increasing housing prices that force people to move more often。 At times， this makes for uncomfortable reading。 However， the author tries to highlight possible ways to tackle the problem through political change and the contribution of each person to rethink their behaviour towards others。 The book is peppered with memorable highlights from research to illustrate each point。 For instance， an image the stuck with me is that cities use pink lights that accentuates uneven skin to prevent teenagers from loitering。 I most enjoyed the first half of the book that discussed the problem of loneliness in detail。 The second half felt a bit too political to me and I would have liked the author to stick more closely to science writing。 However， it provided me with a different perspective on these issues that I may not have considered if it was not prominently featured。 Altogether， this is a well-researched， well-written， and up-to-the-minute book that everyone should read。 。。。more

Esi_70 ，

This is a very brave book， but maybe not so much coming from an author who seems to be part of the elite， and coming from that place it may not be so courageous to talk about the most stigmatized mental health problem in our society。 Anyway， it is a great development and long overdue that someone has been able to do it so assertively。Thinking about this， she does approach this problem from the angle of groups and individuals feeling lonely and marginalised because the government and mainstream s This is a very brave book， but maybe not so much coming from an author who seems to be part of the elite， and coming from that place it may not be so courageous to talk about the most stigmatized mental health problem in our society。 Anyway， it is a great development and long overdue that someone has been able to do it so assertively。Thinking about this， she does approach this problem from the angle of groups and individuals feeling lonely and marginalised because the government and mainstream society don't speak and care for them which is very welcome。The book is pretty good， but I had already read about some of the issues she refers to and I'm not clear about what she advocates for in the chapter relating to the great work community small business are doing to remedy loneliness。 In my opinion， the public sector should be the main organisation that takes care of the community， where non profit is the norm and where the main responsibility should lay on。 However， it only makes sense that small and big business are involved in this too honestly。 。。。more

Julian Walker ，

Apart from a slightly preachy bit about right wing politics in the middle （which is in fact completely justified， but to me only made more sense as I got a fuller picture towards the end）， this is a disturbingly frank appraisal of an invidious cultural horror no longer skulking in the shadows。Many of the examples the author uses are unexpected， and the book is packed with pause-for-thought moments。A clarion call for change， supremely researched and well told。 I'll be reading more of the author' Apart from a slightly preachy bit about right wing politics in the middle （which is in fact completely justified， but to me only made more sense as I got a fuller picture towards the end）， this is a disturbingly frank appraisal of an invidious cultural horror no longer skulking in the shadows。Many of the examples the author uses are unexpected， and the book is packed with pause-for-thought moments。A clarion call for change， supremely researched and well told。 I'll be reading more of the author's works。 。。。more

Deborah ，

Very well-researched and written。 Loneliness is a massive issue in today's society， and it has grown dramatically especially with Covid19。 It's not the kind of book that I would normally read， but I had to for work and I'm happy I did。 Her solutions at the end are just a bit utopian in my opinion。。。 Very well-researched and written。 Loneliness is a massive issue in today's society， and it has grown dramatically especially with Covid19。 It's not the kind of book that I would normally read， but I had to for work and I'm happy I did。 Her solutions at the end are just a bit utopian in my opinion。。。 。。。more

Doreen Blair ，

THE LONELY CENTURY-Noreena HertzI received this free for the purpose of review。While Ms。 Hertz title is intriguing the contents of the book doesn't fill you with sweetness。Due to the electronics we now have from phones， iPads， computers， VR games， Xbox， and those are just the ones our family owns we are slowly becoming a society of people that do not know how to communicate nor do they want to try。 Small things like answering the phone or making a call for an appointment is quickly becoming obso THE LONELY CENTURY-Noreena HertzI received this free for the purpose of review。While Ms。 Hertz title is intriguing the contents of the book doesn't fill you with sweetness。Due to the electronics we now have from phones， iPads， computers， VR games， Xbox， and those are just the ones our family owns we are slowly becoming a society of people that do not know how to communicate nor do they want to try。 Small things like answering the phone or making a call for an appointment is quickly becoming obsolete。The result: loneliness， fear， creativity， friendliness and most importantly relationships are all suffering。 COVID has simply exacerbated the problem。 With people locked down due by government regulations first and then masks worn， individuals and families are becoming increasingly dependent on electronics which leaves them more and more on their electronics。 One real danger is in the job market where robots are replacing people and making the economy weaken because of loss of jobs。 Robots from working on an assembly line to personal care robots。 As I read this book it became clear that individuals must set a boundary on themselves。 The world we are living in will need to value family， people and stick with it。 What have we become？？？？？？Value people not items， relationships are what makes for true joy。 Beware of TOO MUCH screen time。 。。。more

Megan Eggers ，

I picked up this book （free from Netgalley， so take comments with the appropriate grain of salt） because the increased loneliness I’ve seen over the last few months or， lets be honest， decades has been a concern。 I’ve seen it in the desperation for human contact shown by the elderly from work， church， and the community。 I’ve seen it in the lack of social skills and ability to appropriately interact with the world and the people in it shown by the teens in my community。 I’ve seen it in preschoole I picked up this book （free from Netgalley， so take comments with the appropriate grain of salt） because the increased loneliness I’ve seen over the last few months or， lets be honest， decades has been a concern。 I’ve seen it in the desperation for human contact shown by the elderly from work， church， and the community。 I’ve seen it in the lack of social skills and ability to appropriately interact with the world and the people in it shown by the teens in my community。 I’ve seen it in preschoolers begging for attention as their parents stare at their phones in increased obsession…so， does this book solve this problem？ I will admit， I just asked an unfair question， the chances of one book solving the habits of decades are so infinitesimally small that they are laughable。 However， it is a social ill that author Noreena Hertz attempts to alleviate。 Does she always succeed？ No， of course not。 Does she present her arguments in a cohesive and bipartisan manner？ Not always， but the attempt at fairness is there and， as one of the few books I’ve read that faces this problem head on， I do tip my hat to her courage and consideration。 Definitely a book to read if you wish to understand more about the loneliness crisis and what the average citizen can do to alleviate it。 。。。more