America’s Epidemic of Loneliness Part 1: Why We Should All Care

Spirit
Written By Leslie Boney

An invisible epidemic

The latest studies show that half of you reading this are feeling lonely and isolated right now. That is more than a personal problem, and not just the kind of thing we say “too bad” about - loneliness can break our spirit, and has painful and expensive consequences for all of us. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has identified an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” in America, and has called for a national strategy to increase social connection.

Over the next few posts I want to look at some of what’s going on and why it matters. I want to look at the role loneliness and social isolation play in two specific public health crises – mass shootings and suicides – and then explore a new movement that is beginning to fight the problem. Along the way I hope to hear from you about how you’re experiencing loneliness in your life, what you’ve done to address it and what you think about the solutions being proposed.

The book that named the problem in 2000.

The first serious effort to identify and address loneliness and isolation in my lifetime came after the publication of an essay by Robert Putnam in 1995, then a book in 2000, both called Bowling Alone. Putnam traced a 50-year decline in American participation in activities (including bowling) that bring us closer to others, in our personal, civic and religious lives. Putnam tried to quantify it: he blamed 10% of the decline in civic engagement to the pressures of work and two-career families; 10% to suburbanization and commuting; 25% to the increasing influence of electronic entertainment and 50% to generational change.

George Autry, the late founder of the North Carolina-based think tank MDC*, summed up succinctly what seemed to be happening in 1997:

“We don’t live in the old community we used to anymore. We just sleep there. The old community has been undermined by the automobile that carried us away, TV and air conditioning that drove us inside, the two-earner family that wears us out and now the computer that connects us to the next country and isolates us from next door.”
— George Autry, MDC founder

Putnam and others suggested we study the causes of social isolation and come up with new ideas to address the problem.

Question: What do you see as the main reasons for the increase in loneliness?

The new study released in May by the US Surgeon General’s office shows that over the past two decades our loneliness has only gotten more extreme. Here are some of the datapoints the report cites:

Less time with friends: The number of hours we spend with friends in social situations decreased from 60 minutes a day in 2003 to 35 minutes a day in 2019. During the pandemic, that fell to 20 minutes a day. The most dramatic decline is among 15-24 year-olds. Their time together fell from 150 minutes a day in 2003 to 40 minutes a day in 2020.

More time alone: Time spent alone increased from an average of 285 minutes a day in 2003 to 309 minutes a day in 2019, then spiked to 333 minutes a day during the pandemic.

Declining religious affiliation: Between 1999 and 2020, the percentage of Americans reporting belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque declined from 70% to 49%. A Pew study shows the percentage of Americans with no religion, the so-called “nones,” has increased from 16% in 2007 to 29% in 2021. Historically religious institutions have been a key source of social connection to members.

There’s plenty more evidence of a slide toward loneliness. Other studies show we have fewer close friends, trust others less than we used to and are twice as likely to live alone.

The percentages of people reporting social isolation and loneliness are highest among young adults, those 65 and over, single parents and those with financial insecurity. In each of these groups more than half of respondents are lonely.

Why does it matter? Loneliness is more than an empty feeling; in many ways it is killing us.

Loneliness releases stress hormones. It increases inflammation. It boosts the likelihood that we will lose our sense of hope and meaning, and that makes us behave differently. When we are lonely, we are more likely to exercise and sleep less, eat worse, smoke or drink more. And all that leads to a series of quantifiable bad health outcomes.

Heart disease, stroke: Poor social relationships are associated with a 29% increase in the risk of heart disease and a 32% increase in the risk of stroke.

High blood pressure, diabetes, infectious disease: People reporting high levels of loneliness are more likely to have high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes, and may have greater susceptibility to infectious diseases.

Other consequences: Loneliness is also associated with higher rates of dementia, clinical depression and suicide (more on this in Part 3).

Question: how have you seen loneliness contributing to health outcomes in your life or the lives of those you love?

The cumulative consequences of isolation and loneliness

Add it all up and there’s a shocking headline. Lacking social connection is more likely to kill you early than smoking 15 cigarettes a day, drinking six shots a day, lack of exercise or obesity.

“Social connection is as essential to humanity as food, water and shelter,” the Surgeon General’s advisory report says. Yes! Since we became humans, we have relied on each other for our survival. Even today we are still wired for that connection. With connections we survive and thrive. Without them we struggle. “The consequences of a society that lacks social connection,” the report warns, “can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity and engagement are diminished.” It’s time to take loneliness seriously.

-Leslie

Coming up in Part 2: the connection between loneliness and mass shootings.

*Disclosure: George Autry (1937-1999) was my father in law. I worked for MDC from 2001-2006.

Leslie Boney
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