Let us ask a question that is only seemingly provocative: is the loneliness of people the very last step in the evolution of highly industrialised societies?

In a highly industrialised society, the advance of technology and digitalisation often leads to a fragmentation of social relationships. Individual mobility, the decoupling from work and fixed communities, and the increasing focus on self-realisation and individualism contribute to isolation. If this development continues unchecked, it will inevitably lead to the extinction of society. Mathematically speaking, the reason for this is quite simple: without sufficient reproduction (or compensating immigration), every society will irrevocably shrink.

The argument is absolutely conclusive: a society that sinks into isolation is no longer able to reproduce itself biologically and culturally. Loneliness has not only social and psychological, but also profound demographic and biological consequences that endanger the continued existence of a society. On the one hand, children need stable social networks to grow up healthily. A society in which people live isolated lives cannot provide these social networks, which has a negative impact on the next generation. On the other hand, loneliness is always associated with increasing individualisation and a turning away from traditional family models. The desire to have children decreases when a society's values are more oriented towards personal freedom and consumption than community and responsibility.

Our conclusion: a ‘residual society’ of lonely individuals is not viable. Demographic and cultural decline is inevitable.

In this context, some experts argue that this negative development could still be reversed if the appropriate measures were taken in time. However, compensatory immigration is the only effective option here. In the long run, however, this is not a realistic solution for any highly industrialised society because the emigration countries will also suffer from the same problem sooner or later.

To reinforce our argument with hard numbers, let's look at the facts below. The millennial generation typically includes people born between 1981 and 1996. In Germany, this generation makes up about 21-23% of the total population, depending on the definition and delineation of the age groups. Generation Z (Gen Z) usually includes people born between 1997 and 2012. This generation follows the Millennials and is also a significant population group. Gen Z makes up about 15–18% of the total population. Generation Alpha usually includes people born (or still being born) from 2013 to 2025. This Alpha generation is the youngest of today's population. It currently makes up about 10-12% of the population. It is therefore a correct observation based on demographic trends (hier numbered for Germany). Population development does indeed show that each subsequent generation tends to be smaller than the previous one. So the ‘extinction’ is not a sudden crisis, but a creeping process that is already having a noticeable impact. The extinction of society is already in full swing.

Demographic change can (according to some optimists) possibly be slowed down – through measures such as family-friendly policies, better childcare, support for young families and targeted immigration policies. But a complete reversal is extremely unlikely because social and biological dynamics are very slow. This scepticism is understandable, since many of the necessary measures do indeed require far-reaching social changes and a high degree of solidarity, cooperation and long-term thinking – characteristics that are practically very difficult to mobilise in individualistic societies. In such a development, there is a risk that Germany will no longer be able to act as an independent actor. Instead, it could:

  • Strongly depend on other countries, economically or politically, for example.

  • Merge within the EU, with national self-determination decreasing further.

  • Become internally unstable if social and economic imbalances grow and society remains divided.

It therefore seems unlikely that Germany will continue to exist as a ‘self-contained’ society in its current form in 2070. It is more likely that Germany will be a very different society, different in many ways from the one we know today. Above all, Germany will have to adapt to a smaller, older population in the long term.

This ‘Good Night Everybody’ analysis should be a warning wake-up call for us, making us aware of how much is at stake. The question remains whether this wake-up call will be heard in time – and whether there will be a (‘saving’) generation in the near future that is willing to make the necessary changes. My children's generation, alike that of myself, also seems to have overslept its time.