This article explores the growing issue of loneliness, particularly among young people, and highlights the importance of social connection for well-being. Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy emphasizes that true fulfillment comes from connecting with something larger than ourselves and suggests service as a powerful antidote to loneliness. The article also discusses the impact of social media on the quality of relationships.
Murthy wrote that loneliness is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. Young people, specifically, are reporting especially high rates of loneliness. Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis,' he wrote.
So, what's the solution? On a recent episode of The Oprah Podcast, Murthy said many people are getting it wrong. 'There are forces around us that are telling us that the way to fill the emptiness that many of us feel is to focus more and more on ourselves, right?' he told Oprah. 'To acquire more, to achieve more.' But Murthy believes decreasing feelings of loneliness actually depends on three factors, none of which have to do with ourselves: 'When we focus on connecting to something bigger than ourselves, that's actually when we find joy,' he told Oprah. 'It's why service is one of the most powerful antidotes to loneliness.'Many reports have noted the stark difference between older and younger Americans when it comes to loneliness. A whopping 79% of adults between ages 18 and 24 reported feeling lonely. One explanation for this disparity is social media use, Murthy says. 'Whether we're lonely or not has to to do with the quality of connections in our life, not the quantity,' Murthy said. Apps like Instagram and TikTok have allowed young adults to be in contact with more people than previous generations, but they don't necessarily foster deep connection. 'We've moved from having confidants to contacts, from having friends, to having followers, a shift from quality of friends to quantity,' Murthy said
LONELINESS SOCIALCONNECTION MENTALHEALTH WELLBEING SOCIALMEDIA
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