Ages When You Feel Most Alone and How to Reconnect

New research suggests that people tend to be lonelier in early adulthood and later in life. But experts say it doesn't have to be that way.

When Surgeon General Vivek Murthy went on a national college tour last fall , he started hearing the same kinds of questions over and over again: How are we supposed to communicate with each other when no one talks anymore?

At a time when participation in community organizations, clubs, and religious groups has declined, and as social interactions increase online rather than in person, some young people report levels of loneliness that, in recent decades, were typically associated with people elderly.

It’s one. one of the many reasons why loneliness has become a problem early and late in our lives. In a study published last Tuesday in the journal Psychological Science, researchers found that loneliness follows a U-shaped curve: Starting in young adulthood, self-reported loneliness tends to decrease as people approach midlife , rising again after age 60, becoming particularly pronounced around age 80.

Although anyone can experience loneliness, including adults in Middle-aged people may feel more socially connected than other age groups because they often interact with co-workers, a spouse, children, and other members of their community - and these relationships can appear stable and satisfactory, said Eileen K. Graham, associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

As people age, these opportunities can "start to disappear," she said. In the study, which examined waves of data spanning several decades, starting as early as the 1980s and ending as late as 2018, participants at both ends of the age range were more likely to be d agree with statements such as: “I miss having people around me. me” or “My social relationships are superficial. »

“We have social muscles just like we have physical muscles,” Dr. Murthy said. "And these social muscles weaken when we don't use them."

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