Loneliness ‘Epidemic’ Touted by Biden Administration May Be a Myth
‘Aloneness’ not the same as loneliness, say researchers whose work former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Cited in his 2023 report.
The so-called loneliness epidemic trumpeted in a high-profile Biden-era Surgeon General’s report may have been vastly overstated, new research suggests. Turns out, Americans aren’t nearly as isolated as we’ve been led to believe.
In 2023, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which painted a dire portrait of American social life. Its most alarming claim? “Lacking social connection is as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.”
Numerous experts now suggest, however, that the crisis narrative doesn’t hold water. They argue that Dr. Murthy’s claims — which have since been amplified by media outlets nationwide — does not paint a clear picture of what the findings show.
“The biggest story may be how the surgeon general basically butchered the narrative by not relying on solid data,” a behavioral scientist who studies social isolation and loneliness at Oxford University, Hans IJzerman, told Real Clear Investigations.
The panic from the report appears to come from a conflation between loneliness and aloneness, which isn’t as dire. Other research shows too many social obligations can be just as stressful as they are helpful.
A lecturer and researcher with the University of Rochester, Viji Kannan, whose research was included in Dr. Murthy’s report, said that her study focused on measurable declines in social connections and not the subjective feelings of loneliness. “Loneliness is a different thing,” she said in an email to Real Clear.
American Enterprise Institute fellow Daniel Cox, whose research was also used for the report, shared the same sentiment. “The evidence more strongly supports an epidemic of ‘aloneness’ rather than loneliness. We are spending more time by ourselves,” he said.
Despite Americans spending more time alone, the actual decline in social connection has been minimal. Ms. Kannan’s analysis of data from 2003 to 2019 found people spent roughly 146 fewer hours per year with others — a small dip of 1.7 percent.
A separate study by the University of Arizona in 2023 also refutes the claims in the former Surgeon General’s report, finding that loneliness and aloneness are not closely correlated and that true loneliness only kicks in when a person is spending over 75 percent of their time alone.
