The word “isolation” comes from the Latin word insula, meaning “island”. Over time, the word evolved through Italian (isolato) and French (isolé), meaning “made into an island”.
The feeling and connotations of isolation, however, have also morphed as we have headed deeper into the 21st century.
Digital cocoon
Now the thought of closing our doors and wearing our headphones is seen as a comfort or a necessity, where we can destress and fulfil our own personal needs after enduring a demanding working day.
Since the quick but subtle decline of televisions and broadcasting as an “escape” from reality and a means to stay informed and entertained, users have been tricked into becoming addicted to seeing their desires or hobbies packaged directly to them in short clips through TikTok’s, Instagram reels or YouTube shorts.
Families started interacting less, while the children became more immersed in their tablets and YouTube channels, and angsty teenagers have to understand and sometimes compare their lives to the glamorous aesthetics and filters they see when watching the Instagram stories of their friends or celebrities they admire.
Now we watch, comment and “like” friends and family from afar on social media when they have weddings, celebrate births, or grieve a loved one — like voyeurs, it seems.
Cellphone sources
Our cellphones have become our main source of information and entertainment.
Gone are the days when the family would huddle at six to watch the latest episode of 7de Laan. Now everyone can enjoy their own distractions and retreat to the peaceful quiet of their bedrooms.
I think the Covid-19 pandemic marked the crucial breaking point and awakening for a new meaning of this word to be birthed.
Stranded and locked away in our houses during the height of Covid-19, our need and the time we spent on our cellphones intensified.
Whether this was video calls and texts with loved ones, sending emails and attending Teams meetings, or doom-scrolling on social media whilst being flooded with the latest news and death stats, we adapted to being “happily marooned on our own social islands”.
Algorithms that feeds
All the while, the algorithms have been tracking, studying and curating a feed dedicated to our tastes, interests, likes and dislikes — and yet most people aren’t seeing that these tech wizards have woven a cocoon around the users and their cellphones.
This trap, however, disguises itself.
So many are also quick to defend their ideologies or mock those they disagree with online in such creative fashion with GIFs and images, and yet lack the courage to spew these thoughts in real life.
With the popularity and convenience of artificial intelligence, it has also impacted the way we view images, listen to music or watch videos.
Now we second-guess and doubt what we see and hear more than ever.
It’s a strange and interesting time to be alive in 2026, but now more than ever we need to enrich the way we communicate instead of resorting to numbing ourselves to death on our own devices.
