Chapel Theme Addresses ‘Epidemic of Loneliness’

By Mia Agee

Assistant News Editor

Prior to attending Trevecca, Naomi Akinbade, senior biology major and student body chaplain, had been deeply wounded by her friendships and other close relationships. Though she considers herself an extrovert and an avid people person, these “love wounds” caused her to maintain shallow relationships and isolate herself from others.

Once she confessed her struggles to her friends and began practicing vulnerability–a challenge she said God placed on her heart–she discovered that many of her friends were facing some of the same things. This calling, paired with conversations with Erik Gernand, university chaplain, birthed the idea for this year’s chapel theme–“a binding together in love.”

The university’s chapel services so far have placed particular emphasis on the “epidemic of loneliness” currently plaguing the United States and how this epidemic has, as a result, led to both mental and physical health issues for Americans. Leaders on campus have also found that this epidemic has led to a sense of feigned human connection for students.

In May, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, released a report calling attention to the United States’ “epidemic of loneliness.” According to Murthy, people with poor social relationships have a 29% increase in heart disease, 32% increase of stroke, 50% increase of dementia and a 60% increase of premature death.

The CDC also released statistics that claim people experiencing loneliness are twice as likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression, said Dr. Jonathon Roy, the assistant director of Trevecca’s counseling center.

“The more we’re interacting and the more things that we’re keeping ourselves busy with, the more things we have worth living,” Roy said. “Even having someone in older age have a plant they can water increases their purpose and meaning, and we also find a lot of purpose and meaning by being in connection with folks.”

This loneliness epidemic was already evident prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic and social media heightened its reach and made true, genuine connection scarce. This lack of “bodily presence” is a main reason why virtual chapel credits were taken away, as they were not meeting the human need of being together with other humans, said Gernand.

“The irony of social media is that we’re more connected than we’ve even been as human beings, but we’re less connected in ways that meaningfully matter as human beings,” he said. “We’re spending all this energy on maintaining loose, fake, curated connections with people’s avatars.”