Research stage 1..

Having had nearly a week on the project I have FINALLY managed to condense my ideas down to one main focus. Looking into ‘Generation Lonely’ I am going to explore how young adults around the age of 18-24 are becoming increasingly lonely as a result of increased use of social media and lack of connections in todays society.

Connected in more ways than ever before, we are finding ourselves forever speaking to each other on digital devices using various social media platforms. But in somewhere within the social cyber-sphere we have somehow managed to lose our ability to meet and communicate with each other in a real-life setting!

According to an article in the Guardian newspaper, young adults of today are forever being surrounded by people but are becoming more and more disengaged to their surroundings. Continually seeing the world of their peers through rose tinted glasses on sites such as Facebook, young people are finding themselves unsatisfied with their own lives.

Looking into a student age group I am interested to find out more about how young people meet each other to create new friendships and romances. Speaking from personal experience I can certainly understand how in todays world it is very difficult to meet new people out-with work or Uni as we are leading increasingly busy lives and often do not have the time to join clubs etc.

Dating apps and internet dating sites have been becoming increasingly more popular over recent years and in several cases this is excellent as it allows users to meet people without having to use much of their precious free time. However the problem with this is users are forming these ’superficial relationships’ and not properly engaging with people causing them to feel increasingly lonely.

Continuing my research over the weekend I am hoping to discover what the young people of Dundee have to say on the matter and hopefully work with them to create a multifunctional space which encourages new meetings without focusing on the typical bar or club scenario.