In the most connected era in human history, people are dying of loneliness. Roughly 100 every hour, according to a grim new report from the World Health Organization.
That’s more than 871,000 people per year. To put that into perspective: loneliness is outpacing some of our deadliest diseases and doing it while we’re all technically more “connected” than at any point in human history.
The WHO’s new report, From Loneliness to Social Connection: Charting the Path to Healthier Societies, explains that loneliness is the gnawing feeling you get when your social life doesn’t match what you want. Social isolation is the objective absence of social contact. Both are bad for your body.
The risks of loneliness run the gamut: stroke, heart disease, dementia, diabetes, depression, and straight-up early death. Loneliness is a biological bomb threatening to ruin not just your social life but your actual lifespan on Earth.
The Loneliness Epidemic Explained
Despite the infinite scroll and “likes” that social media promises, the digital age appears to be exacerbating this issue, particularly for younger generations and individuals in low- and middle-income countries. “Even in a digitally connected world, many young people feel alone,” said Chido Mpemba, co-chair of the WHO Commission on Social Connection.
The culprits go beyond your phone, though. Poor health, economic insecurity, education gaps, living alone, and the absence of walkable communities or public spaces all feed the ever-intensifying loneliness machine. Toss in a society that values individual hustle over communal care, and you’ve a recipe for our current and worsening public health crisis of loneliness.
The WHO’s roadmap for addressing this issue includes fundamental, systemic changes, such as developing policies that promote social engagement, funding research, finding more effective ways to measure loneliness, and launching public campaigns that remind people it’s okay to talk to strangers, within reason, of course.
Social connection is a biological buffer that can reduce inflammation, improve mental health, and tack years onto your life. Governments need to step up and find ways to bring us back together after standing idly by as the internet slowly ripped us apart, a distance that has become reflected in every aspect of society, from the ways we communicate with each other to the leaders we elect.
People in positions of power have a responsibility to figure out all this. But maybe we should also take a second to text our friend back, too.
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