Bill Maher divides audience with warning about crisis of 'isolation' and 'lack of connection' in America
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a week filled with global challenges, Bill Maher faced a formidable task on his 'Real Time' show on October 13.
Nevertheless, Maher skillfully maintained a focus on potential solutions, drawing insights and teaming them with a tad bit of humor.
UK appoints a ‘Minister for loneliness’
He started the segment by saying, “Looking at what phones are doing to people's brains.”
Maher then continued, “Wow and, and not just phones there has been a perfect storm of events in recent years that has led the Surgeon General of the United States to issue an advisory that America is suffering from a Public Health crisis of loneliness isolation and lack of connection.”
He went on to talk on a less-grim note, saying, “The UK has actually appointed a cabinet level position for Minister for loneliness because the studies and the data from around the world show that the health consequences of so many people feeling so isolated are staggering.”
Later, In his editorial titled 'New Rules', Maher addressed a concerning phenomenon—the escalating societal seclusion where an increasing number of individuals opt to remain indoors, relying on the internet or phones for their interactions with the broader world.
Maher says that people can't even do casual chitchat anymore
Research indicates that the health repercussions of social withdrawal are significant, given the ease with which one can now isolate oneself.
In that light, Maher expressed, “It’s just become too easy to isolate now we've got our phones and our gadgets to distract from having an actual conversation".
"We have Amazon to deliver instead of going to a store; GrubHub instead of going to a restaurant; movies streaming on TV instead of going to a theater and even when we do go out the earbuds stay in we can't even do casual chitchat anymore.”
With services like Amazon for deliveries and a plethora of movies available for streaming at home, the inclination to stay indoors persists, accentuated by the prevalent use of earbuds even during rare outings.
The pervasive influence of technology has instilled apprehensions about the safety of the external environment.
Maher humorously pointed out, "Britney Spears can't even dance in her own home without a couple of knives."
Drawing a parallel, Maher likened this state to the apprehensive elderly lady in the classic Twilight Zone episode, who refrained from venturing outside due to the fear of inviting danger into her home.
“So to quote every mother since the dawn of time – go play outside”, Maher ended the segment, adding that, “The top TV show was Friends. Today, it’s Naked and Afraid 20 years ago."
Bill Mahe leaves internet in splits
People have shown mixed reactions to Maher's segment with one saying, "And yet I’m on my phone stoned watching bill maher."
Another said, "Bill Mahar telling us about mingling with the public is like Don Trump telling us what it's like to buy bread."
One fan wasn't impressed with going out for work, saying, "Bill, don’t conflate working from home with a fear of being out in the world. We all discovered the office model was outdated and self defeating."
However, not everyone disagreed. One person wrote, "So thankful you're back!"