The Social Science of Loneliness: How Advertising and Social Media Causes Us To Suffer
As though glimpsing into the present, 19th century psychotherapist Carl Jung wrote in his book, “Undiscovered Self,” that most problems of modern life are caused by “man’s progressive alienation from his instinctual foundation.”
Look upon any subway, bus, cafe or bar and it’s obvious our innovations have isolated us within the private glowing auras of our devices. But what is this instinctual foundation we’re distancing ourselves from?
In the simplest manner, Jung considered it the complete and true self, the person that each one of us would be if we hid nothing from ourselves or from the world at large. Jung understood that the fear of not being accepted by our peers drives us to repress the aspects of ourselves we are ashamed of, pushing them into a dark recess of our unconscious, an area he called the “Shadow.”
Throughout our lives the Shadow accumulates, gaining influence over our conscious mind every time we refuse to engage honestly with an emotion or desire (usually because we fear retribution from our peers for appearing ignorant or flawed). Overtime, an ignored Shadow can become so strong that it begins to spontaneously lash out, overwhelming our conscious mind and forcing us to commit deplorable actions that provide a release for our…
