Community Loneliness and Social Change

In at least one community that this blogger is aware of, where the population has steadily declined over the last 20 years, and more people are moving and staying away, there is another sad social consequence for some of those remaining. The average lifespan of men and women is also holding true, where there are more widows than widowers. It gets mentioned how lonely and lifeless times can be in the place, especially for seniors. It's been mentioned, that it is more difficult to find people to help "get things done."

It is sad if a feeling of loneliness was caused, or partly due to a void in the human interaction they were accustomed to. If happiness and a positive reason to live positively affects health, then it is possible that a chronic state of lacking such, negatively affects health as well. It may not just be in terms of decreased contact with others, but also due to more physical demands like snow clearing, or repairs, for example. One wonders how this translates into lifestyle like use of medications, food habits, and a person's spirit, or level of contentment.

This one community may be typical of others in the province where the out-migration, population declines, work demands, use of technology and technical distractions, and social attitudes, has brought social change which affected personal contentment. If anyone else has sensed a similar trend in a community they know of, please feel free to share in a comment.