Another problem is that the terms "loneliness" and "depression" harbor implicit
Causal theories.
As Seeman (1983) pointed out in "Alienation Motifs in Contemporary Theorizing:
The Hidden Continuity of the Classic Themes" (see also Ch. 7, this volume),
what was previously called alienation, a concept that emphasized social-structural determinants of human misery,
tends today to be called loneliness or depression,
terms that call attention to, if not place the blame on,
individuals. When Durkheim (1897/1951) wrote out anomie and suicide,
he emphasized societal forces that move a person toward meaningful integration into the activities of a community or toward meaningless isolation