The absence of deep connections and emotional intimacy within relationships is what creates a sense of loneliness. These platforms feed your existing insecurities, beliefs that promote negative self-talk, and feelings of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Social media and hook-up apps like Grindr are major culprits contributing to the loneliness experienced by gay men. You can’t see emotions or intent, which often starts fights when a message is misunderstood or misinterpreted.
Text messaging, as a dominant form of communication, also lacks a sense of connection. The social shift from in-person meetings to online and social media platforms has also exacerbated feelings of loneliness.
If you have fewer friends and fewer people to surround yourself with, you’re inherently more isolated and susceptible to loneliness. Research has shown that gay men have fewer friends than both straight people and gay women. This isolation is prevalent in male gay communities because it can be hard to break into the friend communities of gay men. Loneliness happens when you feel cut off or isolated from people and communities. Knowing how and why loneliness happens in gay men is essential to understanding what you can do about it. This emotional pain can be a problem as it can lead to serious mental health issues. Gay men who aren’t in an intimate relationship often describe feeling a deep and profound sense of loneliness. Loneliness has become an epidemic within the gay male community.
