Is there a Loneliness Epidemic

Loneliness is part of the human condition. It has many variants and take on a unique shape per individual and their environment. It is harmful to both our physical and mental health, as well as being a deeply painful experience. So is it true that loneliness has reached epidemic levels? 

That’s what some health officials are saying, but what does the data say? We look into what’s known (and not known) about the prevalence and effects of loneliness.

Defining Loneliness

For the sake of clarity it’s worth understanding the differences between isolation and loneliness. They are conceptually quite different.

“The way they are conceptualized and measured is quite different,” says Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University. Holt-Lunstad was the first U.S. researcher to publish a large-scale analysis of studies establishing poor social support as a major contributor to morbidity.

Isolation is defined more by the actual size of one’s network or the frequency of contact, she says, whereas loneliness “is thought to be more of a subjective experience or perception of isolation, a discrepancy between one’s desired and actual level of connection.”

Further, she observes: “Someone can be lonely but not isolated, or isolated but not lonely.”

Given how subjective loneliness is, what are some broader themes that affect our loneliness and how has it changed throughout history?

---

SOME CUASES OF THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC

Time brings change and much has changed from two thousand years ago where humans lived in tribes for survival. One thing that will however never change, regardless of our environments, is the fact that humans are social creatures.

Since ancient times, millions of people have died of epidemics of plague, flu, cholera, and other infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms. Major advances in medicine have largely eliminated these mass killers with vaccines and antibiotics.

However, modern societies are facing a new kind of epidemics: behavioural epidemics.

The annual rates of mortality by suicides and opioid overdose have been escalating over the last 2 decades and today are responsible for the death of 1 American every 5.5 minutes. Consequently, the average US life span, which had been rising progressively since mid-1950s, has fallen for the first time.

Contemporary Society

One of the largest contributing factors of the “loneliness epidemic” is the changes in contemporary society. This pertains to our social behaviours, living circumstances as well as how technology and automation have changed our lives.

Changes in contemporary society have made it even more difficult for us to build meaningful relationships. We increasingly work from home. Fewer of us are members of professional associations. In many countries, unemployment is on the rise. Most problematic, organisations, where paranoia prevails, are becoming the norm.

In our personal lives, more people than ever before live alone, either because they have chosen to delay marriage, have divorced or had altogether given up on forming a stable partnership. Even people in a relationship often suffer from a lack of intimacy. Nothing can be lonelier than being in a relationship with an emotionally distant person.

Furthermore, communities are no longer what they used to be. In big cities, it has become easier to ignore the others around us. As we order food and all sorts of goods online, there’s not even a need to talk to a cashier. Recent years have seen the rise of self-service checkout lines along with a multitude of automated systems. All eliminating human interaction.

Automation and Technological Advancements

Technology has brought us an incredible amount of benefits, including the automation of many time consuming elements of our daily lives. We no longer have to stand in long lines to deposit or get cash out at the bank. We don’t even have to stand in lines do our grocery checkout. Unfortunately it comes at the cost of human interaction.

I like the analogy by Talking Heads lead singer, David Byrne that we can think of small social interactions as small puffs of air in a deflating tire. We need little bits every day to keep going.

Beyond the deep and meaningful connections we need to thrive, we evidently also need small every day interactions with other people. All of these interactions are now being eliminated by the machine.

The inventor of the ATM and the Talking Heads singer David Byrne join Dr Laurie Santos to explore the ways in which talking to strangers can bring us all genuine joy. Listen to this poignant episode below, I would highly recommend coming back and listening to it.

Another interesting thing to consider is that most engineers/designers/inventors are stereotypically introverts, who don’t particularly need or crave human interaction as much as others.

Even though all these technological inventions are built on good intentions to make out lives easier, we are inadvertently living the inventor’s lives – which is often lives with less human interaction. 

---

---

HOW TO FIGHT THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC

It’s important to understand that connection is essential because the lack of sufficient connection has a wide-ranging impact on our bodies, including increasing the negative effects of stress and diminishing resilience. 

Here are practical actions you can take: 

1. Cultivate a connection mindset. Boosting connection begins with adopting a mindset that connection is desirable and necessary. To help cultivate this mindset among the people you interact with, share this article with individuals in your social networks. 

2. Take care of yourself. You can’t give what you don’t have. To be a good connector with others, we need to make sure we are physically and emotionally strong and steady. We do this by making sure we are connecting with people who energise us.

Be sure to get adequate sleep and exercise (check out exercise videos on YouTube), and eat healthy. When we are stressed or lonely, these practices often get pushed aside. (Why make a salad when the potato chips are so handy?)

3. Pause to be grateful. Every day, take a few minutes to write down at least three things you are grateful for. Gratitude helps keep you emotionally strong and will help you connect better with others. 

4. Serve others. Reaching out to help others in need boosts neurochemicals that produce positive emotions. In the current climate of encouraging physical separation, this may include writing a card or letter to an isolated elderly parent, relative or friend, or calling to find out how he or she is doing. 

5. Do the small things. Make eye contact when you walk past someone. Smile at someone. Say “Hi” to strangers you sit next to on the train. Talking to strangers even for 30 seconds has been proven to cause a boost of serotonin on both ends of the conversations.

6. Talk about it. Loneliness is not a bad thing, it is a biological cue, like being hungry, for us to take action and do something that our bodies need. Break the stigma around loneliness and talk about it.

---

CONCLUSION

The word ‘epidemic’ suggests that things are getting much worse and loneliness is increasing rapidly. But does the data in fact show that societies are becoming lonelier?

An article by The Economist points out that loneliness certainly deserves attention, but that historical data about loneliness are still scant which makes it, therefore, difficult to declare it a global epidemic. Though evidence suggests that isolation does seem to be increasing, so loneliness may be too.

What we do know is the very real effects chronic loneliness has on us and that the numbers are certainly increasing. The research and science will certainly start adding up in the near future to hopefully draw more attention to this social issue we are facing.

Loneliness is a behavioural epidemic that our modern societies are facing and will continue to face until we break the stigma around it. The more we talk about it the more we can address this public health issue.

Below is another fantastic Podcast episode if you would like more in depth conversations on the topic.

Have you felt the effects of loneliness in your life? Join the conversation in the comments section below and let’s talk about it.