Romanian family - @joshlawton, http://www.joshlawton.com/

All around the world, there are people who live alone, people who have no family or friends, no one to talk to, nobody who really cares. Regardless of age, social position, race or the religion, it is widely believed that absolute loneliness is probably the only thing one can never get used to live with.

I won’t analyze the causes that can lead to these extreme situations, there are too many and too diverse, I’ll only mention that today, in our society, it is possible to live totally isolated without being necessarily imprisoned in one’s house. People are free to move and talk, but can’t destroy the barriers that separate them from the rest of the world. In order to end the loneliness of these people, I propose to make a few changes to our society.

First of all, every village, city, district or neighborhood should create an online database where socially isolated people could submit their profiles including personal details, personality, preferences, and then find other people that live near-by, get to know them and then meet in person. These kinds of websites already exist, but they are not official. This database should be official, and personal data should be checked for accuracy, people should register under their real identity, and they should be encouraged to meet, at least for the first time, in places, specifically created for this purpose. There should be chat rooms and discussion forums yet officials should moderate all the boards, in order to avoid bad language, insults, threats, etc.

The meeting places should also have an official status. The meeting points might be cafes, small restaurants, gym clubs, but these places should be chosen by officials in order to fulfill this specific purpose.

 All the persons that live in the same neighborhood should form an association and then meet and discuss strategies in order to find new members. They should also vote in order to choose representatives for meetings at a higher organizational level like in a town, city, country and so forth. Their goal should be to identify and help all the persons that live alone and live in isolation. The members of these associations should participate together in different activities, go to different events and spectacles, find common hobbies, volunteer or even organize common trips.

There should be no barriers between these people, as they should consider themselves as one big family. Therefore, they should offer each other support and advice, communicate in an informal style and develop warm personal relationships based on mutual trust and respect. In order to achieve this, officials should first explain to people this new concept of family, in order to convince everyone that this is not merely about socializing, but about changing your life.

 I need to emphasis that these places won’t be for those who simply want to make new friends, but for those who don’t have a family, don’t have any friends, those who simply don’t have a normal social life.

If a group of members of a certain neighborhood decides to organize itself as a “special family” (likely about 2 to 10 people) the authorities should give them a special legal status and offer them important discounts at public services as well as the right to move and live together. This new form of family could forever change the fate of humanity as it could prove that “family “doesn’t necessary mean blood relatives, but love and respect. Of course, there should be created a legal frame for this new type of family, imposing some restrictions and limitations. For example, people who already have a family won’t be encouraged to take this step, and neither will those who can’t prove they live alone or have no close social contact. Furthermore, if there are children, the decision should be made in order to protect and defend their rights, by verifying all the new potential members of the family like in the cases of adoption or child custody.

I believe this is important because every person deserves a chance to share his/her life experience with somebody else. A person, who can’t give any advice or offer any support or affection to somebody else, is a person who brings no contribution to the humanity.

Our world needs now the heart and the minds of those who still have something to give, of those who can help us understand how important love, communication and trust are.

Ending social isolation and giving a chance to those who live isolated, may counterbalance the self-destructive tendencies of today’s humanity (violence, hate, discrimination, indifference).