If you’ve ever watched Mad Men, you might have marveled at how normal chain smoking was back in the 1950’s. Nowadays, smoking rates have gone down drastically, but there’s been a growing new epidemic that is, arguably, just as bad for our health: Loneliness.
In fact, some health researchers say that loneliness is as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day, contributing to problems like cardiovascular disease and immune system dysfunction. And it has reached epidemic proportions, with over half of adults reporting that nobody knows them well, and almost half feeling like they’re isolated or don’t have meaningful relationships.
If you’re surprised to hear that the numbers are so high, that’s probably because nobody admits to being lonely. There’s a stigma to admitting you’re starved for company, so we often portray our lives as going great on social media even when we feel disconnected. This, ironically, fuels everybody’s sense that they’re the only one left out.
Or perhaps you’re not surprised by how common loneliness is. After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are feeling cut off from others. I’ve certainly heard about this from more than a few people. Interestingly, during the pandemic, the overall rate of loneliness was actually lower for American older adults than usual. They actually perceived increased social support, perhaps because their children and community were concerned about their health during the pandemic.
There’s a stigma to admitting you’re starved for company, so we often portray our lives as going great on social media even when we feel disconnected. This, ironically, fuels everybody’s sense that they’re the only one left out.
Younger adults -- millennials and Generation Z -- have been having a harder time. They’ve had about a five-fold higher risk of being lonely compared to older adults. And this loneliness leads to higher risk of...
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