When the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, it brought an unsettling companion: loneliness. Richard Weissbourd, a Harvard psychologist, noticed its presence everywhere. He noticed it in empty campuses, quiet streets, and even the disconnected faces on Zoom calls. Loneliness wasn’t new, but it felt more pervasive than ever. Studies from years before the pandemic already showed alarming trends: in 2018, 46% of Americans reported feeling lonely, and by 2019, that number had risen to 52%. The pandemic only worsened the issue, making many people confront feelings of isolation like never before.
Loneliness can be a complex emotion. Unlike anxiety or sadness, it’s not just about being alone. This emotion refers to the gap between the relationships we want and the ones we actually have. It has been described as the discrepancy between one’s desired and achieved social relations. Someone can feel lonely in a crowded room just as much as someone living in solitude. To understand this better, Weissbourd launched a study with 66 questions designed to dig deep into people’s experiences of loneliness. The findings were startling. 36% of respondents admitted to feeling chronic loneliness, and another 37% reported occasional feelings of it. A significant portion of these individuals said they reached out to others more often than others reached out to them, and many felt that no one truly cared about them outside their immediate families.
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The Rising Tide of Loneliness
Unfortunately, the younger generations have faced this crisis the most. The pandemic disrupted their social lives completely and left many disconnected from the world. Even when the restrictions eased, the lingering effects of isolation remained. Strikingly, by 2022, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy officially declared loneliness a public health crisis. Comparing its impact to conditions like diabetes and obesity.
Other countries also recognized the severity of the issue. Britain and Japan tackled the problem by appointing “ministers of loneliness” to deal with the crisis. They launched initiatives like encouraging hobbies and having mail carriers check on elderly residents. Meanwhile, loneliness became a hot topic in self-help books, podcasts, and start-ups, with people searching for practical ways to reconnect.
However, the solutions to this are not as simple as making a phone call or sending a text. Experts have argued that loneliness stems from much deeper issues. These can range from alienation, distrust, and a breakdown of the social systems that once united communities. Feeling lonely is not just about missing people, it’s about feeling disconnected even in an era where everyone has a mobile phone on them 24/7. In fact, many blame technology as the sole reason for growing loneliness and isolation.
Having constant access to phones stops many from interacting with others in real life. Any moment of leisure is spent on the phone, staring at the screen for hours, scrolling aimlessly, rather than actually going out, or catching up with friends. No wonder, the rate of depression and loneliness in young adults is skyrocketing,
Moving Toward Connection
Loneliness isn’t an easy problem to solve, but recognizing its complexity is a good start. Addressing it means more than just sharing how you feel with friends or family. It requires you to build trust and strengthen the connections that bring communities together. More importantly, it needs us to look past our phones, toward the real world. On a personal scale, reaching out to someone or participating in local events can help. Regardless, larger efforts are needed to tackle the root causes of disconnection.
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