Loneliness is officially a public health issue, and not a small one. A real, measurable health risk.
In a 2023 advisory, the Surgeon General said being socially disconnected raises your risk of early death by an amount similar to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness can actually be about as dangerous as a bad smoking habit. It’s linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, depression, and other problems. And about half of US adults reported feeling lonely even before the pandemic made it worse.
The advisory also found that young people ages 15 to 24 had a 70% drop in time spent hanging out with friends in person over the past couple of decades. In person friend time fell from around 60 minutes a day to about 20. We’re more connected than ever online through videogames and social media and somehow spending way less actual time together in person.
In person connection is like a daily vitamin. If you don’t take it, your body and mind actually start to suffer.
I have my family, my friends, my music club, my teammates. Those are my communities, real people I see in person. After learning this, I don’t take that for granted. Texting is fine, but spending time with these people in person matter way more.
Read more: Our Epidemic of Loneliness — U.S. Surgeon General (via NPR)
