Prompt: NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF LIVING ALONE In some countries, many more people are choosing to live alone nowadays than in the past. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

More and more people prefer living alone rather than living with roommates or family members these days compared to the past. This essay believes this is a negative development because people will become socially isolated and they will not have anyone to rely on when they are in trouble. Ċ Social isolation is the most common problem that people, who choose to live by themselves, have to face. This is to say that these people do not want to interact with others, instead, they prefer a quiet zone which they can spend more time with themselves. Gradually, they lose the confidence to communicate in public, thus, they will try to stay away from other people as much as possible. For example, research indicates that undergraduate students in Ho Chi Minh City, who do not live with any roommates on campus, become afraid to engage in conversations and avoid doing outdoor activities with their peers. Ċ More importantly, living alone means that there will be no one available to help people in urgent situations. In a normal house where there are family members living together, they can assist each other if some accidents suddenly happen at any time. In contrast, those, who live in an apartment alone, cannot ask for any help at the time they need it. For instance, my friend, who lived in the college's dormitory alone, died in his room due to a heart attack at night 5 years ago as there was nobody there to get him to the hospital in time. Ċ In conclusion, the fact that people now have a tendency to live alone is quite dangerous because they are separating themselves from their friends and families and there are emergency situations which they cannot call for assistance as soon as they need it.