Viva Brighton Issue #71 January 2019

VIVA
B R I G H T O N
#71. JAN 2019
EDITORIAL
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I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year but,
with things the way they are, that feels a
little glib. The news is full of uncertainty
and isolation, Brexit woes and parliamentary
discord. We live in a time of hyper-connectivity
and yet the rise of loneliness is headline news.
It’s possible that some of us speak to Alexa (or
another disembodied digital assistant) more
than we do to the people who live next door.
We can have thousands of ‘friends’ but very
little connection. Something has gone wrong.
I found out in the making of this magazine that
more than 40,000 people live alone in the city.
Not all of them are lonely, of course, but some
of them will be. So, in a gentle act of solidarity,
we’re starting 2019 with a reminder of the
power of connecting – in a very real way – to
the people around us. Our ‘good neighbours’
issue is dedicated to just some of the people
who are going out of their way to make time
for others. Not FaceTime but face time. A
coffee shop making food for the homeless.
People offering friendship, food, clean laundry,
bike rides, or the comfort of a lullaby.
Just reading about them is good for the soul
and – a University of Sussex study has shown –
doing a kind act for someone else can make us
feel good too, and that warm glow of altruism
can be infectious. So, why not do yourself a
favour and do something nice for someone
else? Reach out. Make a connection.