A recent survey by the Pew Research Center reveals a concerning trend: Americans are less likely to feel close to their community than people in other countries. Researchers surveyed people in 24 countries and found that only 66% of Americans feel very or somewhat close to other Americans. That’s nearly 20 points below the global average and less than all countries surveyed.
Young adults are among those more likely to feel isolated from their community and people with less education and lower incomes. This group also includes those who identify as Democrats or Democrat-leaning and those unaffiliated with organized religion.
The situation is even worse at the local level. While an average of 78% of people worldwide say they feel close to their neighbors, merely 54% of Americans feel connected to their local communities. The only country surveyed with a lower percentage was South Korea, where 50% of adults say they feel connected to their neighbors.
A New Epidemic Is Sweeping the Nation
In May 2023, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to wind down, the United States Department of Health and Human Services released a Surgeon General’s Advisory regarding a new “public health crisis.” U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published a report warning of the rise in loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection among the American public.
“Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling — it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death,” wrote Dr. Murthy in the report titled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.
“The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”
The U.S. loneliness epidemic is an ongoing subject of study. A January 2024 American Psychiatric Association (APA) survey says 30% of adults felt lonely at least once per week over the last year. Some reported feeling constantly isolated; 10% of adults say they experienced loneliness daily.
For two days in January 2024, researchers surveyed more than two thousand adults for the Healthy Minds Monthly Poll. They designed questions using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) definition of loneliness. In their words, a “feeling like you do not have meaningful or close relationships or a sense of belonging.” Both loneliness and social isolation have proven adverse effects on both physical and mental health, like depression, anxiety, and cognitive disorders.
Loneliness concerns exist beyond the United States. A November 2023 Meta-Gallup study says “Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized loneliness as a “global public health priority.”
The WHO also instituted a new international commission focused on tackling loneliness. Co-chaired by Dr. Murthy and Chido Mpemba, special envoy for the African Union, the commission comprises 11 advocates and government leaders from various countries.
Over the next two years, the WHO Commission on Social Connection will focus on raising awareness for the issue worldwide. With the input of other high-level Commissioners, their goal is to propose a “global agenda” with a plan for fostering social connection.
Who Are the Loneliest Americans?
Young adults are the world’s loneliest demographic. The WHO’s decision to name Mpemba, a youth envoy, as co-chair of the Commission on Social Connection was not coincidental.
According to last year’s global Meta-Gallup poll, 27% of young adults between 19 and 29 reported feeling very lonely.
This data reflects U.S. trends. A recent APA survey reports that 30% of Americans aged 18 to 34 experience loneliness daily or several times a week.
Nearly half of adults under 30 (46%) feel connected to other Americans, compared to 83% of adults over 65. When asked about their local communities, the answer remained the same. Only 42% of young adults feel connected with their neighbors.
On the pandemic’s effects on loneliness, a 2021 Harvard study reported that half of young adults surveyed spent weeks without checking in with someone who “genuinely cared” about them.
“Those numbers are shocking to me,” said Dr. Milena Batanova, a study co-author. “We’re seeing so many young people feel more lonely and like they don’t matter.”
Loneliness also disproportionately affects adults with lower education and income levels. While two-thirds of college graduates feel close to their surrounding community, only 51% of Americans without higher education feel connected to their neighbors. This disparity is also true for low-income America, where 50% of people are more likely to feel isolated from their community.
Despite living near others, under half of urban residents report feeling more connected to their communities than those in suburban or rural areas. However, there is little difference between geographic groups — 55 to 58% of suburban and rural residents feel ties to their neighbors.
According to the Pew Research Center survey, findings differ by political affiliation. Three-quarters of Republican voters report feeling close to their fellow Americans, 15 points more than the 60% of Democratic Party voters. This gap only widens between the ideological extremes, with conservative Republicans feeling the most connected to others and liberal Democrats feeling the least connected.
Loneliness varies significantly based on religious affiliation. Almost three-quarters of Americans who value religion and attend religious services report feeling they have ties to others in the U.S. Nonreligious Americans, in contrast, feel less connected to both their country and the local community.
Feeling Lonely Might Be the New Normal
“It’s hard to put a price tag, if you will, on the amount of human suffering that people are experiencing right now,” Dr. Murthy told listeners of NPR’s All Things Considered podcast.
Dr. Murthy argued that today’s rapidly developing world and social media takeover have transformed how people form connections. “In the last few decades, we’ve just lived through a dramatic pace of change. We move more, we change jobs more often, we are living with technology that has profoundly changed how we interact with each other and how we talk to each other.”
“And you can feel lonely even if you have a lot of people around you because loneliness is about the quality of your connections.”
However, the prognosis is not entirely bad. The U.S. Surgeon General Advisory includes a six-pillar plan to build much-needed connections among Americans. Dr. Murthy hopes to strengthen social infrastructure like public parks and libraries, enact pro-connection policies that increase accessibility, and mobilize the health sector to address loneliness-related health complaints. He plans to reform digital environments and conduct further research on the topic, all to fulfill the last pillar: cultivating a culture of connection.
