Call it manifestation, call it good vibes, call it unashamed naivety, we, the co-founders of Capsule are determined that this year will, in fact, be our year (too soon for an ‘up the Wahs’?). Welcome to Twenty Twenty Thrive – our guide to living our best lives!
Capsule x Samsung
Look, we are very aware that some of the last few years have been… sub-optimal at best. And yes, sure, there are things going on in the world right now that make you want to reach for the stress wine you keep hidden in the pantry behind the wholemeal flour.
But here at Capsule, we know there are many things that we cannot control and that focusing on those only makes us feel crazier. So, for this year, we’ve decided that we are instead going to focus on the things we CAN to help us achieve our ultimate goal – simple, unfiltered happiness and contentment (IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK).
So here is TWENTY TWENTY THRIVE. We’ve joined up with our pals at Samsung to bring you stories of pure joy and happiness, interspersed with actually helpful advice and tips on how to make this the best year yet (like, actually – no stupid New Year Resolutions or grand pronouncements around here, thank you very much). We’ll be focusing on themes like connection, health and self-care with real stories and real experts offering their sage advice and knowledge and, in true Capsule form, we’ll be (over)sharing our own experiences along the way.
This edition – how to tackle loneliness, build connections – and our own co-founder Kelly’s experience (yup, the oversharing begins here!)
I never really understood how crushing loneliness could be until I experienced it. It’s come and gone throughout my life – best buddies with anxiety, funnily enough, and coming in waves of desperation to be with and around people, to connect, to share.
Loneliness can be a trope – the sad single lady at home with just her cats; the grumpy old man who’s pushed all his mates away; the office colleagues who’s a little bit quirky and doesn’t quite fit in.
But it really doesn’t work that way. Loneliness can creep up on the most extroverted, ‘life-of-the-party’ person in smaller, more intimate ways. It’s sadness, heartache, anxiety and fear wrapped up into one.
It hit me when I was scrolling through my phone posting pictures from a work event last week (can I just say I’ve never looked better because the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is NOT mucking around with its camera – it has five lenses!? – and hell you have to celebrate when you have a good face day) that although I had an incredible time, I remember the hours of the day before it I spent at home, alone, desperate to chat to someone.
On the extrovert/ introvert scale I’m somewhere towards the middle – maybe slightly towards the extrovert side. I get overwhelmed and overstimulated in social situations sometimes, particularly if there’s no drink in my hand. And while sometimes that manifests in a ‘I just want to go home, speak to no one and eat chicken nuggets in bed’ way, other times I’ll find myself out and about in a room full of people but struggling to connect with any of them.
But [loneliness] really doesn’t work that way. Loneliness can creep up on the most extroverted, ‘life-of-the-party’ person in smaller, more intimate ways. It’s sadness, heartache, anxiety and fear wrapped up into one.
Other times, loneliness is clearer cut and my GOD, did I struggle with it in 2024. I work from home and I’m by myself (we don’t even have a pet, damn landlords) and while sometimes it’s great to get shit done, for someone who loves a little goss while getting a cuppa, the lack of social interaction and, well, people is something I massively struggle with, and the isolation takes its toll.
It confuses me – I’m a young (well-ish), extroverted-ish gal with a great job, heaps of friends and a lovely partner. Why the HELL was I so lonely?
I genuinely think it’s my greatest fear (that and frogs – I hate those little f***ers with a vengeance). Until I found my tribe at in the last few years of high school I was, shall we say, not popular, and if I had any childhood trauma from my school days it would be intermediate where I had no friends at all, and spent my lunchtimes hiding in the art room. I was not good at art.
That feeling of loneliness and that lack of connection has stuck with me for life and it’s something I still, to this day, live in fear of happening again and let’s be honest, there’s a bloody stigma about it still – who admits they’re lonely? But I’m far from the only one (we’ll get to that).
However, in this twenty twenty thrive era, I’m determined to end it, once and for all. Now is the time to shake off the isolation of the past – I mean the pandemic didn’t help much, did it – and work on the art of connection once again.
WHAT IS LONELINESS, WHY ARE WE FEELING LIKE THIS AND HOW DO WE FIX IT?
Loneliness is an epidemic, with studies showing that millennials and Gen Zs are the most affected generations and experience deep feelings of disconnection. It’s legit classed as a major public health risk, with studies showing in can increase the chances of a premature death by 29%.
The US’s top doctor – Surgeon General Vivek Murthy – reckons that a lack of social connection is as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Jeeeeesus. Plus, it also directly leads to a rise in romance and online scams, as vulnerable people seek out affection in ill-informed and dangerous ways.
An Australian report found that specifically, one on two Gen Z (54%) and Millennials (51% reported that they regularly feel lonely – despite being part of the most connected generations in the world. It’s SO HARD to make new friends, and if you aren’t lucky enough to continue to be close to your high school or uni buddies, entering the workforce is no guarantee of finding new buddies as real life tends to get in the way.
Humans aren’t supposed to be alone. We’re supposed to be in villages, in communities, in families. The need to connect is embedded in our evolution, tied to the core of who we are. But why do we feel lonely? There’s lots of reasons:
- Digital connection versus real life: Let’s be honest here, we spend so much time looking at other people live their lives, sometimes we forget to go and live our own. Technology is bloody wicked – I mean, the AI on my S25 is frankly astounding, I can literally speak into it and say ‘find that photo of me on the beach holding an ice cream’ and it’ll bloody do it – but guys, we can also use phones to, you know, call, rather than just message or meme. Instead of using our phones to call or message people to have a conversation, to organise a catch-up or to engage on a deep level, we rely on social media for our socialising. But it juuuuust isn’t as deep as we need for proper, soul-nourishing connection is it – I mean, me and my best friend’s ‘conversations’ mainly just consist of us sharing memes back and forward. Whilst funny, it means I have no idea how she truly is. THAT needs to change.
- We live differently now: Traditional family structures and communities ain’t what they used to be. We live more individually now, often far away from family members, which makes connection harder. We also have, you know, jobs and shit we have to balance with everything else, leaving little mental load and bandwidth for ‘luxuries’ like connection. Communities are now online, rather in events and local activities, which makes it so much harder to feel part of something.
- Life is harder? Gen Zs are coming to that time in their lives where they realise a), there was a reason we put a kibosh on low-rise jeans (it’s normally around the age of 27 when you’re like, what the f*** is happening to my stomach) and b) the world… isn’t always an easy place to be. Millennials are stuck with huge costs of living as they try and figure out how to buy houses and raise families, and Gen Xs are dealing with ageing parents while still raising families. When the hell are you supposed to socialise?
Look at me, out and about working from a cafe NOT sitting in silence by myself at home – yay!
OK OK COOL, THAT’S ME – TELL ME HOW TO FIX IT
- Take control of your loneliness: Acknowledge it, become friends with the bitch, and work together to overcome it. Inspiration without action is useless, so it’s time to scroll through those contacts and re-ignite your connections with your friends. It doesn’t matter if it’s been a while, a simple message of ‘Hey! It’s been so long, I was thinking about you the other day and would love to catch up? Free for a drink/coffee/walk/ in the next week or two?’ You’ve got this – and hey, they can only say no. No biggie. On to the next!
- Is there a specific scenario that’s causing you to feel lonely? Identify it! For me, it was the simple fact that I was by myself all day without any meaningful connection. So this year I’m looking into co-working spaces with some of my fellow media mavens, opting to head to my local coffee shop for a few hours a week to be around people, and popping into my friend’s place to work alongside her one day a week (she works for a wine company so this is a GOOD idea).
- Grow your connections: Take the plunge and join groups, clubs or organisations. It’s so scary at first, but it really, truly is worth it. And hell, you already have something in common to talk about! Sport is an easy one if you’re that way inclined, or, even easier, a community-minded gym, or your more niche interests or causes. Or else join a pub quiz team – I know mates who have simply approached smaller groups in pubs and asked if they can join in. Boom.Pals. A bonus if you know stuff!
- Download Bumble for Friends: Bumble BFF is now a separate app, Bumble for Friends, and its sole purpose is to help you find besties. Just like a dating app, you can filter through locations, ages and interests. All the people on there are just like you – they’re looking for buddies, so there’s no awkwardness or weird ‘hey do you want to be my friend’ vibes.
- Romanticise your alone time: Flip the script on your time alone by completely, rom-com styles romanticising it. Candles on, flowers from the dairy, little sweet treats, Celine Dion on repeat – whatever your vibe is, lean in and lean in hard. Be the girl who goes to the farmers market, chats with the locals, grabs a coffee, some freshly-baked bread, snacky bits and some blooms and come home and enjoy time with yourself in a different, more positive context.
- Move your convos out of the chats: We all love our phones – as you might have picked up, I’m currently having a hoon on the new [series sponsor, *seamless insert*] Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and it’s a social media DREAM (the review is coming soon!). But here’s an idea – I’m actually going to use it to CALL my friends have a chat (and THEN take a cute photo of us all when we do). We all know that Gen Zs especially absolutely hate talking on the phone, but this needs to change if meaningful connections are to be had – according to psychologist Nancy Sokarno, “excessive use of social media can promote a ‘compare and despair’ mindset” – one that a real-life catchup can dispel quickly and effectively. Connection isn’t just words – it’s tone, it’s cadence, it’s emotion – all of which are so much harder to do over a messenger chat. Remember the absolute joy of calling your bestie after school – despite the fact you’d just seen them all day – and chat for hours about everything and anything until your mum told you off for hogging the phone line *sighs nostalgically*. That could be us again but now it’s the phone wedged between your ear and shoulder (or ok fine, headphones) as you’re cleaning or cooking or trying to find that missing sock or attempting to feed an uncooperative toddler. It’s a live podcast, audience of two, exclusively just for you.
SHE DID IT, YOU CAN TOO
I’ll be honest and say I’m a work in progress on this one – that’s what Twenty Twenty THRIVE is all about, after all – but social media manager Kalya Kleinman, 34, has suffered the same, and has managed to feel less lonely in her thirties. Living in a big city by herself for more than 13 years, and working from home, she’s experienced her fair share of it – her top five tips are:
- She started taking group fitness classes in the mornings – even if she doesn’t speak to anyone else all day, she’s felt part of something first-thing; a great way to manage mindsets
- In a similar vein, she’s also joined a gym that focusses on community connection
- She began hosting book clubs for friends, and then encouraged them to invite their own friends – further expanding her circle
- She actually started to show up to the events and activities she was invited to!
- And finally, she shifted her mindset to really cherish her alone time.
Good luck besties – and remember, our inbox is always open!