Ideas worth spreading

You are not alone in your loneliness

4,173,893 views |

Jonny Sun |

TED2019

• April 2019

Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In an honest talk filled with his signature illustrations, Sun shares how telling stories about feeling like an outsider helped him tap into an unexpected community and find a tiny sliver of light in the darkness.

Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In an honest talk filled with his signature illustrations, Sun shares how telling stories about feeling like an outsider helped him tap into an unexpected community and find a tiny sliver of light in the darkness.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

Jonny Sun

Screenwriter, author, artist

See speaker profile

Jonny Sun wears many hats, creating work across multiple fields and modes that speaks to the increasingly expansive society in which we live.

Jonny Sun | Harper Perennial, 2017 | Book

Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book

My book, from which the illustrations for my talk were adapted, is called Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book. It tells the story of a lonely alien who finds community on earth, and serves as a loose metaphor for online life.

danah boyd | Yale University Press, 2015 | Book

It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by danah boyd is a now-classic book on young people's use of social media.

Zeynep Tufekci | Yale University Press, 2018 | Book

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest by Zeynep Tufekci is an important book that discusses how Twitter is used in protest and activism.

Judith Donath | Communities in Cyberspace, 1998 | Article

"Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community"

"Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community" by Judith Donath is a key paper in discussing the link between online and offline identity.

Sherry Turkle | Simon & Schuster, 1997 | Book

Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet

This book as well as Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology by Sherry Turkle discuss identity and connection online.

Lisa Eadicicco | TIME, 2017 | Article

"How the Internet Is Getting a Little Nicer, One Meme at a Time"

This TIME Magazine article by Lisa Eadicicco outlines the "wholesome memes" movement on social media, which helps address mental health and self-care among social media users.

Andre Brock | Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2012 | Article

"From the Blackhand Side: Twitter as a Cultural Conversation"

Andre Brock's paper "From the Blackhand Side: Twitter as a Cultural Conversation" by Andre Brock is a landmark paper which discusses Twitter's cultural use among black Americans.

Lisa Guernsey | New America, 2017 | Article

"Don’t Take Away Your Teen’s Phone"

This piece and the one that follows argue rebuttals against the common narrative that social media is making people lonelier.

Eric Klinenberg | Slate, 2012 | Article

"Facebook Isn’t Making Us Lonely"

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Trans Lifeline.

Donate to the Trevor Project.