I'm not the person you asked, but alienation was a major theme for early 20th century sociologists who studied the ugly effects of urbanization in those days.

Alienation means the breakdown of social ties and the fragmentation of identity. Durkheim published theories on this stuff well over 100 years ago. He also studied suicide.

I agree that we're probably seeing a continuation of trends that began long ago and that are tied in with capitalism, urbanization, and the decline of religion.