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Well sometimes people already have issues. For example if one suffers from Aspergers, and it's not diagnosed, maybe they have difficulty socially. And due to that, they are written off as stupid, clueless, or weird and may have trouble making friends or connecting to people. So, they retreat to their own company, and technology makes it so they can entertain themselves.
And it doesn't have to be Asp. It could be people who are HSP - Highly Sensitive People. with that, social interaction can cause anxiety, or shyness due to their overly sensitive nature, which can make them more vulnerable to rude people. So they don't socialize much. Which alleviates their problem somewhat.
There's Introverts, who may not mind people exactly, but prefer quiet settings, and dealing with a lot of people can be draining for them.
As mentioned, Depression can lessen one's desire to socialize.
Bad experiences, emotional/mental issues, preference, etc.
There are many reasons. Technology plays a very small role. It may aid the people who are shut ins but it's no where near the main reason people become that way.
And on the flip side, there are those who can never be by themselves, must always have someone with them. And there are those who must continually socialize - to the point of it becoming obsessive.
Isn't it ironic that those personality types are never questioned?
I'm an introvert and thoroughly enjoy spending time with 'me'; and yes, I do have a few friends and we occasionally spend time together, which is nice but I still enjoy coming back home to 'my happy place'.
Had a friend who was 180 from me: the nonstop obsessive social butterfly. She began to chide and criticize me for 'not getting out more', etc., and it was so overdone that finally I said,
"You enjoy being very social and I don't critique your lifestyle choices; I expect the same consideration and respect from you regarding my lifestyle choices."
She never brought up the subject again. Fortunately what 'friendship' we did have has significantly dwindled over time which is for the best.
I'll try to elaborate, what causes a person to (or at least try to) socially isolate from people? There's no question that with the technology we have today it is easier to be a shut-in then ever before but the use of technology is really just a symptom of the cause in my opinion.
Not everyone is social or cares to be social though. For some, being socially isolated would be torture and depressing; for others, it would be optimal and uplifting. I think a mistake some people make when assessing others' social functioning is to assume that everyone wants to be or needs to be social for optimum health and well-being, and so anyone who is less social than 'normal' is viewed as having a problem or an issue or some deficit. Granted, many social 'shut-ins' probably are suffering from a variety of psychological and/or physical issues, but many are probably completely normal and happy with their isolation.
Well I've noticed that many people believe that people (specifically the young generation) are more socially inept than ever. Those people usually blame thing like smartphones, video games and the internet for this.
That's what I meant by this statement.
In trying to tie it in with this thread about social isolation and shut-ins, this technology makes it easier for people to socially isolate themselves from others. And yet many people who have the smartphones and video games etcetera and yet still live normal social lives.
So what could be the mental and emotional issues that cause people to isolate themselves socially.
The people replying to this seem to say that they isolate themselves and don't use technology. I don't think technology makes people shut ins. Immersion in it might aggravate social anxiety with actual people, I suppose. But I doubt it causes people to shut themselves up in their homes.
I'll try to elaborate, what causes a person to (or at least try to) socially isolate from people? There's no question that with the technology we have today it is easier to be a shut-in then ever before but the use of technology is really just a symptom of the cause in my opinion.
These are all reasons people would consciously choose not to go out and about, voluntarily--not cases of poverty or physical illness/disability. Also not cases where someone is in an abusive relationship or in a relationship with a sociopath/narcissist who socially isolates the person and the person one day realizes, "dang, where did my life and all my friends go?"
I'm hideous and sometimes the people who I am close with (family) are boring and they can depress me so I like spending time alone that way I just worry about myself and live in my own little world. I also don't like to spend too much time with people who are better looking than me because it depresses me.
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