Presentation Information
[P-9-06]Isolation in a Fully Connected World: From Dostoevsky to Thunderbolts
*Yulia Furlong (University of Western Australia(Australia))
Keywords:
1.Youth mental health,2.Loneliness and disconnect,3.Narrative psychiatry,4.Digital culture,5.Human flourishing
Young people today have unprecedented access to digital communication yet report rising levels of loneliness and declining emotional well-being. Although adolescence has traditionally been a time of carefree optimism, it is now increasingly marked by psychological distress. This paper examines the resurgence of older cultural narratives that resonate with these emotional experiences, offering insight into the inner lives of digitally saturated but emotionally isolated youth.
A striking example is the viral popularity of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights on TikTok, where its themes of longing, alienation, and the ache for connection have struck a chord with Generation Z. The narrator, a dreamer alienated from society, forms a brief but poignant bond that breaks through his isolation. The novella validates the emotional world of young readers, reaffirming the need for meaningful connection with the quiet but powerful message: “You are not alone.”
These motifs echo in contemporary storytelling. In Marvel’s Thunderbolts (2025), the central antagonist, the “Void,” brings despair and darkness that threatens New York. It is not defeated by individual force, but through shared vulnerability and reluctant collaboration. The story portrays the isolation of today’s youth and serves as a metaphor for nihilism, depression, and internal shame. It is a powerful representation of contemporary emotional struggle: progress emerges from a collective yearning for authentic connection.
This cultural convergence is mirrored in empirical work such as Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, which integrates psychology, philosophy, and public health to promote well-being. A recent longitudinal study by Kim and colleagues (2024), based on over 11,000 U.S. adolescents, showed that increased positive affect during adolescence predicted better mental health, reduced loneliness, and greater well-being in adulthood.
Together, these narratives affirm the need to foster emotional and relational connections in youth. In a hyperconnected but emotionally fragmented world, healing begins with recognition, empathy, and shared humanity.
A striking example is the viral popularity of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights on TikTok, where its themes of longing, alienation, and the ache for connection have struck a chord with Generation Z. The narrator, a dreamer alienated from society, forms a brief but poignant bond that breaks through his isolation. The novella validates the emotional world of young readers, reaffirming the need for meaningful connection with the quiet but powerful message: “You are not alone.”
These motifs echo in contemporary storytelling. In Marvel’s Thunderbolts (2025), the central antagonist, the “Void,” brings despair and darkness that threatens New York. It is not defeated by individual force, but through shared vulnerability and reluctant collaboration. The story portrays the isolation of today’s youth and serves as a metaphor for nihilism, depression, and internal shame. It is a powerful representation of contemporary emotional struggle: progress emerges from a collective yearning for authentic connection.
This cultural convergence is mirrored in empirical work such as Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, which integrates psychology, philosophy, and public health to promote well-being. A recent longitudinal study by Kim and colleagues (2024), based on over 11,000 U.S. adolescents, showed that increased positive affect during adolescence predicted better mental health, reduced loneliness, and greater well-being in adulthood.
Together, these narratives affirm the need to foster emotional and relational connections in youth. In a hyperconnected but emotionally fragmented world, healing begins with recognition, empathy, and shared humanity.