#modernepidemic

By Mehnaz Ladha

Loneliness is sweeping the nation as the modern lifestyle makes us more isolated from friends and family. According to a recent study published in the journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science, loneliness increase mortality risk by 26%.

Media outlets throughout the world especially in the UK reported on the new findings. But why is this study from Brigham Young University receiving so much news coverage? It’s because the findings of this study suggest that loneliness is on its way to becoming the next public health issue. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Associate Professor Holt-Lunstad commented saying that “the effect is comparable to obesity, something that public health takes very seriously…we need to start taking our social relationships more seriously.”

Unlike our ancestors, we are living a life of isolation, relying on social technology to unite us with our extended friends and family. The lack of face-to-face interaction results in superficial and less rewarding relationships. As social creatures, we have the natural instinct to stay connected with each other. Although social networks like Facebook help us maintain contact with friends and family who live far away, they do not provide us with the physical connection that we crave.

It is commonly known that loneliness affects elderly people because of decreased mobility and loss of friends and family, yet society forgets that this epidemic affects people of all ages. Being surrounded by people does not imply that we are not lonely; it is not about the quantity but quality of the relationships we have.

Personal Rating: 7.5/10

After spending the whole weekend obsessing over this game, unlocking all of the characters and vehicle upgrades I thought it would be about time for me to make my review. 

First I wanted to talk about the characters. While it was fun to see new characters in this game like baby Rosalina along with my personal favorite; Pink Gold Peach, I was disappointed by the characters that got left out. I felt that the Koopalings were a disappointing add to the game and I would have rather seen old favorites like Boo and Dry bones rather than them. That being said, it was still nice to get new characters that enhanced the customization of the game. 

Next, and one of the big reasons for my 7.5 rating is the bikes. If you've played ANY mariokart in your life you'll know that the bikes have always been that sleek and powerful advantage in playing Mariokart. They were always easy handling and powerslide demons. This time around, Nintendo decided that nerfing the bikes would be in everyone's best interest. (They were wrong). 

When using the bikes, the handling seems to have gone down, and drifting has become almost impossible. Being 20 years old, I eventually figured out the best way to control drifting on the bikes, but for the younger audience of the Wii U it may be a bit more trying. I also found that drifting and controls in general were a lot harder to do on the gamepad itself. I played this game with three of my friends and most of them had an easier time controlling with the wiimote or the wii u pro controller.  

Other than that, there were only a few smaller issues, like the fact that they removed the battledomes for battles and that they decided to add a coin as a powerup. 

Despite those facts, the game was endless fun and the new maps were fun and challenging while the re-vamped old maps left me speechless and nostalgic. The new anti-gravity feature is amazing and gives you a whole new look at mario kart racing. The game is beautiful graphically and the customization of your vehicle is better than ever. Mario Kart has always been a favorite of mine and while I may have been a bit harsh on the rating it's still one of my new favorite games on the Wii U. 

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in my ask and tune in within the next couple weeks when I'll be reviewing the game I received with my Pre-Order of Mario Kart 8!