In this video, Patrick Bet-David explains the ‘loneliness epidemic’ that is taking place in America as announced by the U.S. Surgeon General.
The Surgeon General of the United States released a report this year called “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” In it, he declared that there is a “loneliness epidemic” in America and said loneliness can be as damaging to a person’s health as smoking.
According to a study published in PLOS Medicine, loneliness’ adverse effects on someone’s health is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Some of the effects of loneliness include an increased risk of heart disease, depression, and cognitive decline.
According to Census Bureau data, the number of single-person households in the U.S. has increased from roughly 6 million in 1960 to roughly 37 million in 2022. While the population has only doubled since 1960, the population of single households multiplied by six.
According to a 2019 poll conducted by health group Cigna, Gen Z is leading the loneliness epidemic with 79 percent reporting feelings of loneliness. A total of 61 percent of American adults say they feel lonely, a seven percent increase since last year.
A 2022 Pew Research Center study found that 30 percent of American adults are not married, nor living with a partner, nor in a committed relationship. Furthermore, it found that almost half of all young adults are single: 34 percent of women and a dismal 63 percent of men.
According to a 2014 study published in the Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, “Loneliness can lead to various psychiatric disorders like depression.”
And in a 2023 Gallup poll, the number of Americans that had ever been diagnosed with depression reached 29 percent, which is nearly 10 percent higher than it was in 2015. The amount of Americans that currently have or are being treated for depression reached 17.8 percent, which is seven points higher since 2015.
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Why are these trends occurring? According to the Surgeon General report,
- We’ve become more mobile, people move away from home at higher frequencies and communities become more fragmented
- There are fewer people living in extended family environments
- There is less participation in community activities
Furthermore, participants who reported using social media for more than two hours a day were twice as likely to report increased perceptions of social isolation compared to those who used it for less than 30 minutes per day.
Overuse of social media:
- displaces in-person engagement
- monopolizes our attention
- reduces the quality of our interactions
- diminishes our self-esteem
- gives us a fear of missing out
- often results in conflict
- reduces social connection
Financial insecurity is another cause of loneliness. It may require someone to work multiple jobs, resulting in less leisure time and limiting opportunities for social participation and connection—which, in turn, could provide fewer resources and financial opportunities. Factors behind financial insecurity include inflation compounding for decades and student debt.
Watch the rest of Pat’s video for his solutions to the crisis as well as his thoughts on the ways the COVID pandemic lockdowns contributed to it.
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