Nowadays, there is a controversial topic about individualism, in which the perversion of this doctrine has turned into self-absorption and selfishness, leading to a loss of social connection. This essay aims to clarify issues resulting from this situation and propose possible solutions to tackle them.
While individualism is a social concept that encourages the pursuit of personal goals and freedom, the extreme version of it causes serious problems. As individualism intensifies, people begin to struggle with getting on well with the community and become more introverted in daily life; they isolate themselves from everyone and minimize the frequency of attending public activities. In a social history research conducted in the US about this phenomenon, researchers highlighted that the historical development of individualism in the US since the early nineteenth century has directly fostered complex emotional tensions, such as acute loneliness and depression. Consequently, this trend not only isolates people from social relationships but also damages their mental health.
To address these problems, a collaboration between the community and individuals is required. Local authorities have to organize more events and encourage people’s attendance to foster social bonds and empathy for others. At an individual level, everyone needs to be educated about the balance between personal aspirations and group values and understand that independence does not mean selfishness or isolation, it means self-development, privacy and autonomy, which are the ideals of individualism. Ultimately, implementing these solutions would alleviate problems resulting in extreme individualism effectively.
Overall, individualism or living for self-fulfillment is not wrong and censurable. In other words, this concept can be considered as a normative doctrine for people to engage in if it is not perverted. Individuals and the community must share the responsibility to keep the balance by encouraging everyone to attend public activities and preventing younger generations from being exposed to selfish culture, which causes social division or mental distress.