Most Americans are lonely, and young people are the loneliest, new study says


Social media platforms may be able to connect the world, but they've yet to eliminate existential angst.
A nationwide study published Tuesday found that nearly 50 percent of respondents feel lonely or left out. The study, conducted by the health insurer Cigna, additionally found that younger generations are likely to say they feel isolated, reports NPR.
Cigna surveyed American adults online, using a tool developed by the University of California, Los Angeles, called the Loneliness Scale. The tool considers people who score between 20 and 80 on the scale to be lonely, and the survey found that the average score for adults in the U.S. was 44. The higher the score, the more lonely an individual was perceived to be. The results mean that "most Americans are considered lonely," the study says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But that score goes up as age goes down: Generation Z, those born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, scored 48.3 on the scale. Millennials, born between 1980 and 1994, scored 45.3, reports NPR. Meanwhile, baby boomers scored 42.4 and The Greatest Generation, those aged 72 and older, scored 38.6. Researchers didn't tie loneliness to social media use, but the survey did find that daily in-person social interactions led to feeling less lonely.
As a whole, 54 percent of respondents said they felt that "no one knows them well,” while 56 percent feel like the people around them "are not necessarily with them." Forty percent said they felt isolated and that they lacked meaningful relationships.
Cigna surveyed 20,096 American adults online from Feb. 21-March 6. The poll has a margin of error of 0.8 percentage points. Read more at NPR.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Malaysia's delicious food and glorious beaches
The Week Recommends From 'colourful' George Town to the 'jungled interior' of Langkawi, Malaysia is incredibly diverse
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read