Do you feel lonely? If so, you are in good company. Almost a quarter of the world feels lonely, according to a 2023 Gallup/Meta study. That’s over a billion people!
In this article, we’ll explore some recent numbers on the loneliness epidemic. We’ll also look into the connection between technology and loneliness, examine a societal group that’s prone to feeling lonesome, and what you can do to feel more connected.
Loneliness: What the numbers say
The Gallup/Meta study mentioned above was conducted in 142 countries with around 1,000 respondents per country. Globally, 24% responded that they feel fairly or very lonely.
An interesting finding was that men and women feel equally lonely. What’s more, young adults feel substantially more lonely than old adults (27% vs. 17%). This might come as a surprise as efforts to reduce loneliness often target older people who might be mobility-reduced, retired, and have little interaction with their adult children.
An article in the Scientific American on loneliness among young people states that “loneliness—much like hunger or thirst—is a signal that we’re lacking something.” The saying “starving for contact” isn’t too far from the truth in terms of what happens in the body in neurobiological terms.
Quite alarming is that one in five millennials report having no friends at all. Why is loneliness so widespread among youngsters? A 2018 study shows that limiting social media use improves mental health. Another study from 2019 explored why Americans found it challenging to make friends, and the most common reason was shyness.
Putting those two puzzle pieces together, one can speculate that excess social media use gives a distorted view of the perfect lives of others. It might intimidate people from socializing since they feel like they can’t live up to that illusion of perfection.
What is loneliness?
To explore the topic deeper, we first need to agree on the definition of loneliness. Loneliness is defined as a lack of close or meaningful relationships or a sense of belonging. It can also be interpreted as a subjective experience of the objective state of being alone: one person may enjoy having few social interactions, while another person might suffer from it.
The Roots of Loneliness Project has dug deep into the topic and has found over 100 distinct types of loneliness. These can be divided into three main categories: situational, developmental, and internal loneliness:
- Situational loneliness comes from changed life circumstances—for example, moving to a new city for a job, going through a breakup, or breaking a leg and being unable to move. It can be short-lived or have long-term consequences depending on the person’s capacity to deal with it.
- Developmental loneliness occurs when someone perceives they aren’t advancing at the same rate as their peers. An example is being single while everyone in your friend group is getting married and having kids, or having cognitive challenges.On the contrary, evolving faster can also lead to feelings of isolation. This can happen if you have a spiritual awakening and suddenly can’t relate to your old life and friends (something that’s common in people going through a near-death experience).
- Internal loneliness comes from within. In short, it can be described as feeling lonely even though you’re surrounded by people.
Ultimately, loneliness comes from feeling disconnected. Could it be that people who feel connected to themselves, nature, and the universe feel less lonely? That’s an intriguing topic for a research project.
Risks with loneliness
Research shows that loneliness increases the risk of mental and physical health conditions such as depression, insomnia, fatigue, obesity, and diabetes. A weakened immune system and high blood pressure are other health risks of loneliness, as is the development of eating disorders.
Loneliness increases the risk of early mortality and has been found to be as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!
Millions of Americans feel lonely… every day!
So, it’s clear we need to take the loneliness epidemic seriously. But what is the state in the US? In the Gallup/Meta study, 15% of the American population reported feeling very or fairly lonely. This is below the global average of 24%. However, some quick math tells us it’s still over 51 million people.
A poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from early 2024 revealed that 30% of adults felt lonely at least once a week during the past 12 months. Ten percent claimed that they felt lonely every day. Among younger people, the numbers are even higher, with 30% of Americans aged 18-34 feeling lonely every day.
Loneliness among caregivers
Caregivers of older people or people with terminal or debilitating diseases, such as brain injury or cancer, are particularly prone to loneliness. A French study from 2022 revealed that 10% of caregivers often or always felt lonely.
A study of four English-speaking countries found that loneliness among caregivers increased during the pandemic due to the imposed restrictions. The study looked at informal caregivers (often family members).
It makes sense that caregivers need extra social support to decompress from the emotional and logistic challenges of taking care of a loved one. Being deprived of that outside support during lockdowns and restrictions adds to the feeling of isolation. On top of that, perhaps formal caregivers weren’t allowed to do their jobs, which added to the burden of the domestic caregiver.
If you or someone you know cares for a family member, know that feeling overwhelmed and lonely is completely normal. There are support groups with people in a similar situation who understand you. Sometimes, feeling seen and understood is all it takes to make it through the day.
Also, don’t hesitate to ask for a helping hand or accept support when it’s offered. You don’t have to do it all alone. Consider seeking professional support, such as therapy and counseling, if needed. It exists for situations like this!
It’s also vital to prioritize what energizes you, such as healthy eating and exercise.
Technology to combat loneliness
We’ve already seen that social media could have a damaging effect on loneliness. What about technology and the internet, in general, beyond polished Instagram feeds? It can be argued that technology keeps us apart, but as with many things, it’s a double-edged sword. The impact of technology depends on the underlying intention.
Americans are split as to the role of the internet in socializing—this is reflected in the above-mentioned poll from APA. While most respondents had a positive view, with 75% claiming the web helped them connect with others more frequently, 54% thought of virtual connections as meaningful, while 46% saw them as superficial.
Virtual interactions can help mitigate loneliness when you consciously connect with others. Even if you don’t have many friends or live far from your loved ones, you can find like-minded people anywhere on the globe.
That was the intention behind IONS’ recent conference BEYOND: Global Mind Change in Action. The conference connected people from 34 countries for four transformative days.
Subscribe to our email list and follow our social media to stay tuned for upcoming events!
Tips to feel less lonely
Know that it’s perfectly possible to turn things around, even if you’ve felt lonely for years! Here are our top tips to feel more connected:
- Be kind to yourself. With about a billion people feeling lonely, you’re not alone.
- Develop a spiritual practice to connect to something bigger.
- Tell your loved ones that you feel lonely. You may be surprised by the support you’ll receive!
- Plan quality time with the people in your life. Make an effort to spend more time with them, or have regular calls or video calls if they live far.
- If you don’t have a lot of quality connections, make a plan for making new friends. It might not feel like it, especially not if you compare your life to the highlight reels on social media, but many other people are also looking for company. Join groups and attend events related to your interests and hobbies to connect with like-minded people.
- Be the friend you want to have! Journal about the qualities you want in a friend, and practice them in your friendship or with new connections.
- If you live alone, and work remotely, make it a habit to get out of the house. Maybe you can work from a coffee shop or coworking space at least a few days per week?
Together, we’ll combat the loneliness epidemic
Loneliness is completely normal and something everyone experiences from time to time. It becomes a problem when it negatively impacts your life and mental health. But to every problem, there’s a solution!
We hope that this article has given you perspective and shown that there are ways to mitigate loneliness.
And that, with over a billion lonely people, if you feel lonely… you’re not alone.
