US Surgeon General Declares Loneliness An Epidemic

Facts

• On Tuesday, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory warning that the country is facing an epidemic of loneliness, claiming it's as lethal to physical health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.¹
• In the advisory, Murthy said a lack of social connection should be treated as gravely as "tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis," as loneliness can reportedly increase the risk of premature death by 26%.²
• According to a study cited in the advisory, loneliness is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia – and is also one of the primary motivations for self-harm.³
• The advisory calls for a national movement to address loneliness and recommends infrastructure and policy changes as well as for people to join community groups and put down their phones when they're catching up with friends.⁴
• While the declaration of the latest public health epidemic is intended to increase awareness around loneliness, new promises of federal funding have yet to be made to combat the issue.⁵
• According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, the amount of time Americans engaged with friends in person decreased by around 33% from 2003 (60 minutes/day) to 2020 (20 minutes/day), while time spent alone increased by 24 hours a month during the same period.⁶

Sources: ¹PBS NewsHour, ²ABC News, ³Vox, ⁴CBS, ⁵BBC News, and ⁶Pubmed.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. While the health risks of loneliness are real, loneliness isn't a health epidemic or quite the crisis it's cracked up to be. A culture of individualism and reliance on technology can make people feel lonely; however, there is insufficient evidence to show a steady trend in loneliness in the US. The "loneliness epidemic" narrative fits into the widespread cultural frame that modern life is about disintegration and alienation, conveniently hiding the fact that loneliness naturally changes across our life cycle.
• Narrative B, as provided by CNN. We live in the most digitally connected age in the history of civilization, yet approximately half of US adults experience loneliness daily due to diminishing social connections. Whether this is an epidemic or not, being socially disconnected is clearly bad for our physical, emotional, and financial health. Reversing course will take a strong effort from both the government and the public, particularly parents and caregivers who should schedule in-person time with family far more often than they currently do.