Why the world needs real friends in an age of digital loneliness and hyperconnectivity
4 min read
Why the world needs real friends in an age of digital loneliness and hyperconnectivityDespite billions of digital connections, loneliness is rising. On International Friendship Day, a clinical psychologist reminds us that no number of likes can replace a real friend’s hug.
Friendship Day / Getty Images
July 30, 2025

On this International Day of Friendship, celebrated across the globe on July 30, people are posting heartfelt messages, tagging friends, and sharing nostalgic throwback photos. 

It is a day officially recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, which traces its roots back to 1958, when the World Friendship Crusade proposed a day dedicated to celebrating the value of friendship. 

This day encourages people around the world to cherish their friends, express appreciation, and strengthen the bonds that connect us. But in today’s world of hyperconnectivity and beyond the digital gestures lies a deeper question: Are we truly more connected or lonelier than ever?

Despite the dazzling array of social media platforms, messaging apps, and video calls that have revolutionised the way we interact, experts warn that we may be mistaking connection for communion.

“Humans are social creatures. They need face-to-face interaction, to look into each other’s eyes, to touch, to be physically present,” Fazilet Seyitoglu, clinical psychologist, tells TRT World.

Seyitoglu has spent over a decade researching the psychological impact of digital engagement and has written books on emotional well-being. She comments on different modes of socialisation and their impact on people.

“People appear social; they're interacting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. But these aren’t the kinds of interactions that fulfil the soul,” she says. “When your heart aches or you need someone to sit beside you in silence, no app can deliver that kind of companionship.”

Paradox of a connected age

With nearly 5 billion people online and over 2.5 billion using social media daily, humanity is more digitally networked than ever before. But studies repeatedly show an uptick in reported loneliness, especially among young adults.

In a 2022 study led by psychologist Eric J Moody, university students who frequently engaged in face-to-face conversations reported lower levels of both social and emotional loneliness. In contrast, high-frequency internet users experienced less social loneliness but more emotional loneliness — an emptiness no amount of scrolling could fix.

Seyitoglu points to this very paradox.

“The digital world moves fast. People pursue pleasure, validation, and instant gratification. It’s a space driven by ego not empathy. That’s why we’re seeing an erosion of real, reciprocal friendships,” she says.

The problem, Seyitoglu adds, goes deeper than screen time. “We’re losing something sacred, the values of Eastern societies that emphasised community, family, and long-term relationships. Today, it’s more about the self. Instant pleasure. Living alone. And the human soul is starving,” she says.

She paints a vivid picture to elucidate two scenarios in which screen friends do not necessarily win over real-life ones, especially during crises. The reasons, she adds, can be varied for such behaviours.

“In times of crisis, your Facebook friend can’t come to your door. They live on the other side of the world. No matter how many likes you get, it doesn’t compare to someone holding your hand when you cry.”

Her concern isn’t just philosophical. Studies by Engelberg and Sjöberg (2004) linked high internet use to lower social adjustment and emotional intelligence. 

A 2014 study by Yao and Zhong found that internet addiction may actually cause loneliness, not cure it.

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A call to rediscover one another

So what do we do in a world saturated with digital noise and surface-level interactions?

“True friendship may begin online,” Seyitoglu says, “but it must grow in the real world. Real friendship means sacrifice, time, and physical presence. Without it, we risk becoming strangers, even to ourselves.”

In a society where even the elderly are turning to screens for company, Seyitoglu urges a return to the basics: shared meals, real conversations, spontaneous visits.

As global loneliness levels rise, now recognised by some governments as a public health crisis, Seyitoglu’s words strike a chord.

“Touch is human. Eye contact is healing. We must remember that being seen is not the same as being known,” she adds.

In a world of curated stories and filters, perhaps the most radical thing we can do is show up — unfiltered — for one another.

So, as you scroll past tributes to friendship today, consider closing your screen and calling someone — or better yet, meeting them in person. Because while the digital world may promise connection, it’s in the physical presence of another that we find true belonging.

And on this International Friendship Day, she offers a quiet but urgent message: “Every second we invest more into digital life, we rob from our social life. And eventually, we’ll feel that poverty, not in our feeds, but in our hearts.”


SOURCE:TRT World
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