10 Statistics That Reveal The Ramifications of Loneliness

More people feel this way than we realize, and the costs are huge

Though the United States is a huge country, it is easy to feel isolated and alone. And even though the world is filled with 8 billion people, it can sometimes feel like we live in our own little world.

We walk around with phones glued to our hands and can immerse ourselves in a virtual reality that connects yet isolates us at the same time.

In 2023, The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General published this report: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.

The report is broken down into four chapters:

1. Overview — This section provides a summary of why social connection matters. It provides trends across demographics and community involvement as well as social networks. Furthermore, it highlights groups that are most at risk for social disconnection and the impact of technology on social connection.
2. How Social Connection Impacts Individual Health and Well-Being — This roughly 10-page section of the report discusses individual health outcomes from survival and mortality to diabetes to suicidality and self-harm. It details how certain processes impact health outcomes and discusses the educational and economic benefits.
3. How Social Connection Impacts Communities — Here, the report provides a summary of the benefits of more connected communities, including, but not limited to, population health and economic prosperity. It lists one potential negative effect as societal polarization.
4. A National Strategy to Advance Social Connection — The strategy is based on six pillars, from strengthening social infrastructure in local communities to cultivating a culture of connection. Lastly, the report provides recommendations to various stakeholders on how to improve social connections.

I encourage you to read the report yourself for a more detailed look into this pressing societal problem and familiarize yourself with the strategies outlined in the report.

However, to draw urgency to this matter, I wanted to highlight 10 statistics that I pulled from the report that reveal how loneliness and lack of social connection are impacting individuals and societies.

1. “Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29%, respectively.” — (p. 8 of the report citing: Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015;10(2):227–237.)
2. “In addition, poor or insufficient social connection is associated with increased risk of disease, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.” — (p. 8 of the report citing: Valtorta NK, Kanaan M, Gilbody S, Ronzi S, Hanratty B. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart. 2016;102(13):1009–1016)
3. “Social isolation among older adults alone accounts for an estimated $6.7 billion in excess Medicare spending annually, largely due to increased hospital and nursing facility spending.” — (p. 9 of the report citing: Flowers L, Houser A, Noel-Miller C, et al. Medicare Spends More on Socially Isolated Older Americans. Washington, D.C.: AARP Public Policy Institute; 2017.)
4. “A 2022 study found that when people were asked how close they felt to others emotionally, only 39% of adults in the U.S. said that they felt very connected to others.” — (p. 9 of the report citing: Gallup Inc., Meta. The State of Social Connections. Washington D.C.: Gallup Inc.,; 2022.)
5. “Polls conducted in 1972 showed that roughly 45% of Americans felt they could reliably trust other Americans; however, that proportion shrank to roughly 30% in 2016.” — (p. 13 of the report citing: Davern M, Bautista R, Freese J, Morgan S, Smith T. General Social Surveys, 1972–2021 Cross-section [machine-readable data file, 68,846 cases]. In: NORC at the University of Chicago, ed. Chicago: NORC at the University of Chicago,.)
6. “For instance, the amount of time respondents engaged with friends socially in-person decreased from 2003 (60-minutes/day, 30-hours/month) to 2020 (20-minutes/day, 10-hours/month).” — (p. 13 of the report citing: Kannan V, Veazie P. US trends in social isolation, social engagement, and companionship — nationally and by age, sex, race/ethnicity, family income, and work hours, 2003–2020. SSM — Population Health. 2023; Volume 21.)
7. “In 2018, only 16% of Americans reported that they felt very attached to their local community.” (p. 16 of the report citing: Parker K, Horowitz J, Brown A, Fry R, Cohn D, Igielnik R. What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities. Pew Research Center; 2018.)
8. “The rate of loneliness among young adults has increased every year between 1976 and 2019.” (p. 19 of the report citing: Buecker S, Mund M, Chwastek S, Sostmann M, Luhmann M. Is loneliness in emerging adults increasing over time? A preregistered cross-temporal meta-analysis and systematic review. Psychological Bulletin. 2021;147(8):787.)
9. “Chronic loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of developing dementia by approximately 50% in older adults, even after controlling for demographics and health status.” (p. 28 of the report citing: Lazzari C, Rabottini M. COVID-19, loneliness, social isolation and risk of dementia in older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relevant literature. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2021:1–12)
10. “A review of 63 studies concluded that loneliness and social isolation among children and adolescents increase the risk of depression and anxiety, and that this risk remained high even up to nine years later.” (p. 29 of the report citing: Loades ME, Chatburn E, Higson-Sweeney N, et al. Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2020;59(11):1218–1239.e1213.)

The final chapter of this report outlines the specific strategies (pillars) that undergird the government’s approach to combating this epidemic.

From my experience, many community groups are pouring their hearts and souls into their missions of connectedness and giving. And people are stretched so much in commitments with work and hurdles that life throws at us.

But, I have to believe in a message of hope. Let’s start with education, empowerment, and resource capacity. Awareness is the first step. Let’s build a better community together.

What are your thoughts? Are you surprised? Do you have ideas to build more community?