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When the US Surgeon General described loneliness as an epidemic in 2023, his advisory referenced the complicated role technology can play in combating social isolation. That same year the World Health Organization also launched its new Commission on Social Connection to address loneliness as a global health issue.
On one hand, some online platforms can exacerbate feelings of loneliness by taking over people’s attention with endless scrolling, reducing the quality of interactions they have with others, and causing FOMO, or fear of missing out. These activities can make people feel isolated.
On the other hand, online spaces can provide new ways for people to gather with friends and find community. These spaces can connect people who otherwise may not have found each other, creating genuine bonds and friendships that can have a lasting positive effect.
According to the Surgeon General, tech companies can help fight loneliness by intentionally designing technology “that fosters healthy dialogue and relationships” rather than relying on algorithms that monopolize users’ attention, drive division, and lower self-esteem.
A way to combat loneliness is meaningful connection with others. That can happen online much like it does in real life, but the quality of the online space matters. At Discord, our goal is to create the tools that help people build genuine friendships online, because we know just how beneficial it can be — and we’re building a business that puts this experience at its core.
Online connections are a fixture of modern life. One in three US adults report they are online “almost constantly,” and a similar share of teens say they use social media just as much, according to the Surgeon General’s advisory.
It’s probably true that everyone spends too much time on their phones — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t important things happening there. For young people in particular, online spaces can be great for hanging out with friends, building social circles, and forming identity at a key juncture in life.
Technology also removes geographical limits placed on friendships and allows people to find like-minded peers much more freely.
It’s important to have opportunities to connect with people who are into the same things, whether those are passions, causes, or an identity. Coming together online can help people find community, and help build genuine connections.
On Discord, that may happen in servers focused on a favorite sports team, video game, or TV show. Servers can be small and intimate, with just your core friend group who might use it for hanging out and chatting. They can also be larger spaces for more people to share ideas, or organized around identities, including neurodivergence, disabilities, or LGBTQ communities; as well as special interests like music, art, or tech.
For some people, spaces like these offer support and social connection that might be hard to come by where they live.
“Especially as an LGBTQ young person, being able to find a space, be it online or in person, can literally be life-saving if they come from an unsupportive community,” said Patricia Noel, Discord’s mental health policy manager and a licensed social worker. “Just being able to find people who accept you, who use your pronouns — all I can say is that it can be a life-saving experience for young people to be able to come on Discord and to find community.”
Many young people use Discord servers to support each other as they navigate a difficult stage in life. In servers focused on peer support with mental health, members gather to discuss what they’re struggling with and build community around helping one another.
These spaces created and managed by users aren’t replacements for mental health professionals, but they offer an accessible and reliable space to be heard, Noel said. Young people look to communities of friends for validation and support, and they’re at an age in life when that has a significant impact on their sense of self.
“Young people are really invested in their mental health. They want to be having these conversations,” Noel said. “They're so open about what they're experiencing and feeling, and even the way that they support each other is amazing. They're asking the right questions, they’re so in tune with one another, and they’re such an empathetic group.”
In spaces dedicated to discussing mental health, people may feel more free to share things they aren’t yet comfortable sharing elsewhere. They can show up in a space that’s designed to offer words of validation and affirmation, and offer that same kind of support back to others.
“There’s a lot of research coming out around the benefits of peer support and just being able to talk to somebody who's gone through what you’re going through, or who's just within your same age bracket,” Noel said. “It ends up being beneficial for the person seeking support as well as the person who is the supporter.”
The experience of hanging out with friends is central to Discord.
Servers are all about conversation — text, voice, and video — because that’s how people build genuine connections, in the real world and online. Conversations happen at both the server level and also one-on-one or with smaller groups in Direct Messages, or DMs. We think of this in contrast to social media apps that are built for broadcasting and likes, and driven by algorithms that monopolize users’ attention. When all your time is spent on shallow interactions and endless feeds of other people seemingly living their best lives, it’s hard to feel better or more connected.
Often, the opposite is true: research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that social comparison on digital platforms, where people judge themselves against others they see online, is “a significant risk factor for depression and anxiety.” Experiences of quality interactions and social support online, on the other hand, are related to lower levels of depression and anxiety.
The good news is we know how online communities can bring people together. The internet can still provide new solutions to people’s need for social connection, and Discord is committed to fostering safe, healthy, and supportive spaces on our platform.
“The internet isn’t going anywhere. It's a tool that young people use, and it's going to continue to be a part of their lives,” Noel said. “They want to be part of the solutions. They want to be included when it comes to deciding what happens next.”
