Loneliness and Social Isolation

Do they pose a growing health epidemic?

Introduction

Loneliness afflicts millions of Americans of all ages, and some experts think the problem is getting worse, driven by an aging population, changes in family structure, reliance on technology in place of face-to-face discourse and other forces. Medical studies have associated loneliness with costly physical and psychological ills, and social scientists say it can erode community cohesion and even undermine the nation's commitment to shared values and democratic ideals. Countries such as Japan, China and South Korea report similar problems, and in January British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed the world's first “minister of loneliness” to address the issue there. Some researchers contend that Americans are no lonelier than in past generations, and they say technology can bring people closer together as well as drive ...

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