Internet entangles college students in a web of loneliness and depression

The other day, I was on the Internet, when an article caught my eye:

"Man's body found in front of TV year after death."

I clicked on the link and read that police found the decaying man when they went to check on a broken pipe. He was still sitting in his easy chair, the TV was still on and he was partially mummified.

No one knew he was dead.

Neighbors thought he had moved into a hospital or a nursing home. They apparently didn't notice that mail was piling up or that the driveway hadn't been shoveled all winter and the grass hadn't been mowed all summer. They never stopped to realize that the old man never went out to get food or toilet paper. And they didn't peek through the window even once to see that the TV had been on the same channel for an entire year.

Now, I would like to think that if my neighbor hadn't come out of his house for year, I would notice. But I wonder if I would. I wonder if you would. Before you answer, consider this:

We live in an overwhelmingly independent society. A get-rich-quick, make-it-to-the-top-at-all-costs society. Because we are independent, because we are driven by our ambitions and possibly because we are just too busy, we don't pay much attention to anyone except ourselves. The story about the elderly man is almost comical, but how tragic that it's true.

It seems like being alone or forgotten should be a worry of the past. With the exception of the stereotypical elderly person who hasn't figured out e-mail yet, the Internet has connected everyone. It's possible to send instant messages to a person in China you've never met, and you can e-mail your classmates about what the professor said in class that day you skipped.

But even with all of these new connections, many of us still are lonely. Rather than creating a global society, in many cases, the Internet has created global outcasts. We can and do spend hours a day on the computer, checking our e-mail and getting paler and paler sitting in the fluorescent light, desperate for interaction. We think that the Internet connects us and helps us find friends, boyfriends and girlfriends. We form and retain our relationships via e-mail, rather than expose ourselves to the sunlight and risk not looking as pretty in person as we do in our profile pictures.

I am as guilty of this as the next person. I probably collectively spend a few hours a day checking my e-mail and watching for someone to post on my wall on Facebook.

And I admit that I get slightly upset if no one does. In such cases, I get a little lonely, and I stay in my own little corner of the world.

Research shows that this loneliness can result in depression, and on the Truman Web site, it stated that 18.2 percent of Truman students are depressed. This number doesn't seem that large, but look through your friend list on Facebook. Out of every 100 friends you have, 18 to 19 of them probably are depressed. Depression also can lead to suicide, and Truman expects up to one suicide every two years, according to the University Counseling Services Web site. Now imagine that every two years, a person from your friend list disappeared. No more messages, no more wall posts, no more interaction. Would you notice?

One of the best things about being a college student is the ability to facilitate change in the world. Maybe nobody listened in high school, but now that we are paying for our education and becoming productive members of society, people tend to take more notice. Many of us are also slightly headstrong, which can be a benefit in setting up those large scale protests. However, this matter doesn't require a protest or even a chain e-mail. Just a simple realization and a warm coat for when you finally go outside.

Jennifer Herr is a freshman linguistics major from Newton, Iowa.