The loneliness epidemic
The US Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic in 2023. Approximately half of American adults report measurable levels of loneliness. Loneliness increases the risk of depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and — significantly — cardiovascular disease and early death. The health effects of chronic loneliness are comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Loneliness vs solitude
Loneliness is the subjective experience of social disconnection — the distressing gap between desired and actual social connection. Solitude is chosen aloneness that is often restorative. A person can feel lonely in a crowded room or content alone at home. The subjective experience of connection, not the quantity of social contact, determines loneliness.
What helps
Meaningful connection — even in small doses — is more effective than quantity of social contact. Volunteering consistently produces the most robust improvements in loneliness and wellbeing. Structured activities with repeated contact (classes, clubs, faith communities) create conditions for relationship formation. CBT targeting loneliness addresses the cognitive patterns — hypervigilance to rejection, negative social interpretations — that perpetuate it.
Social media use is associated with increased loneliness in many studies, particularly passive consumption. Active engagement (direct messaging, commenting, responding) is less harmful or even beneficial. Time spent on social media viewing others' lives without direct interaction tends to worsen the gap between perceived social lives of others and your own.