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The vice president of Germany’s parliament, Bodo Ramelow, has called for more opportunities for people to meet in person, warning of the social consequences of digitalization.<\/p>\n
“We need spaces where people can come together again,” Ramelow said during an interview with the news portal Web.de News which was published on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He pointed to the steady decline of traditional meeting places such as village shops and pubs, as well as falling attendance at church services.<\/p>\n
“Fewer and fewer people are going to church,” he said. “But the desire to experience something together is still there.”<\/p>\n
Ramelow previously served as premier of the eastern state of Thuringia for about a decade.<\/p>\n
He is currently a lawmaker for the Left party and serves as the group’s spokesman on church and religious affairs. He describes himself as a practising Protestant.<\/p>\n
In the interview, Ramelow urged society to rethink its priorities. “We live in a world in which individualization has led to consumer spending becoming the only thing that ultimately matters,” he said. “But spending money does not fill the emptiness of hearts and souls.”<\/p>\n
A June 2025 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that one in three older people and one in four adolescents are estimated to be socially isolated.<\/p>\n
The impact is not only individual but also societal, with billions in costs to healthcare systems and losses in employment, the report said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n