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In the spring of 2023, Vivek Murthy, then the surgeon general of the United States, declared that Americans were in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness. Murthy asserted that 1 in 2 adult Americans reported experiencing loneliness, which has been found to increase risks of all kinds of serious health conditions, such as heart attack, dementia, and even premature death (though some of these findings have since been thrown into doubt). Murthy also claimed that loneliness underlies many of our societal ills, including violence, addiction, and political extremism.
But is loneliness really an epidemic? The answer to that question could influence how the problem is addressed—and whether the efforts to combat it are successful.
Writing in the Conversation, Brendan Kelly, a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, says that the proportion of people feeling lonely is actually quite stable over time. An epidemic is a rapid increase in the number of people afflicted by a particular disease or condition within a specific community or region. But, argues Kelly, “Loneliness is not a sudden crisis that needs a short-term fix. It is a long-term challenge that requires a sustained response.”
Read more: “Lifetime of Friendships Slows Aging“
Social connection is essential to well-being, without a doubt, but calling a phenomenon an epidemic when it isn’t one is not just misleading, it could undermine efforts to find real root causes and effective interventions, he writes.
Some researchers have even found that the messaging around loneliness could increase the negative impact being alone has on our health, because how we feel about being alone can shape our experience of it. The authors of one 2024 study measured how lonely people felt over a two-week period along with how positive or negative their beliefs about loneliness were. Those with negative beliefs experienced a steep increase in loneliness after spending time alone in daily life, whereas those with positive beliefs felt less lonely after spending time in solitude.
There are of course differences between being alone and being lonely. And, in any case, Kelly notes, “Loneliness is part of the human condition, but alleviating each other’s loneliness is also part of who we are—or who we can become.”
Ultimately, both Murthy and Kelly say we need to connect with one another better and more. But we might need a better diagnosis of our collective condition before we can find the right cure. 
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Lead image: Jorm Sangsorn / Shutterstock
