The loneliness epidemic has hit us all hard, regardless of our immutable characteristics: race, gender, ethnicity...
While there has been talk of a "male loneliness epidemic," I've largely - if not completely - steered clear of using the term, for, from what I've read over the years, both men and women have been impacted.
But, in the Left-wing outlet BuzzFeed - an unserious, clickbait-driven site that I honestly thought was now defunct - staffer Dannica Ramirez documents what the women of Reddit think about male loneliness.
While some of the responses were thoughtful, drawing attention to the fact that men historically have been hesitant to open up to their friends and be vulnerable - most comments were nasty, saying that the male loneliness epidemic is largely "self-inflicted," with one user writing that "about 85% or more of the men complaining about it do it to themselves."
Another Reddit user wrote that "It's evidence that even men think most other men are not a joy to be around."
One commenter, however, wrote that "loneliness is something we’re all really struggling with, regardless of gender."
That's exactly my feeling, too. From the data I've consumed - and, trust me, I've read a lot about this issue over the past few years - loneliness is an equal opportunity killer: it does not discriminate based on any single criterion.
Thus, combating loneliness and social isolation ought to be a gender-inclusive battle, wherein both men and women can take actionable steps to foster community.
The issue of loneliness need not be another point of division between the sexes; we have politics for that.
Let this be a joint struggle.
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