In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murphy published a report along with the Department of Health & Human Services regarding a loneliness epidemic among people of all ages worldwide. Brophy is not exempt from this epidemic.
This report, titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”, cited multiple smaller reports, including one that stated that “approximately half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, with some of the highest rates among young adults.”
Loneliness has become more and more of an issue as time has gone on, and it isn’t solely a problem in the United States. In addition to the problems in the United States, a 2010 study by the United Kingdom reported that 60% of 18 to 34 year olds in its respective countries reported that they often feel lonely. This means that this epidemic doesn’t just affect the U.S.; it’s a worldwide issue.
For the sake of relevance, let’s take a look at how this problem affects Brophy. When asked if she’d seen an increase in loneliness over the last few years, Brophy Student Assistance Counselor Ms. Colleen Feeney Wilson said, “Yes, I have. I think that especially for young men, it seems like there’s a lot of people feeling like they don’t have close friends. They might have a lot of people they’re friendly with, but not a lot of people they could talk to if they were having a tough time.”
A late 2020 poll by YouGov reported that 69% of adolescents aged 13-19 feel alone, while 59% feel like they often have no one to talk to. This causes many problems, as loneliness can cause sleep disturbances, fatigue, and changes of appetite. Brophy, a school of adolescent men, are included in this statistic. Because of this, we need solutions.
Causes of this epidemic vary in multiple ways. It isn’t a social skills issue, as many reports state that people who are lonely are for the most part actually better at identifying social cues. This problem is also a lot more widespread than one might think. The average number of close friends a person has dropped from 3 in 1985 to only 2 in 2011, and this may have gone further down in the near decade and a half since.
Many solutions to this problem can be found. Ms. Feeney suggested that “answering honestly when someone says ‘hey, how are you doing?’… having someone else in the world know how you’re actually feeling can really ease a lot of that loneliness and that pressure.” Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health suggests that exercising, eating healthy and other things of that nature are helpful, as well as finding a hobby or something to keep your mind busy.
The world’s loneliness epidemic causes many to endure problems ranging from being out of shape to poor sleep, causing them to not be in the best condition they can be. However, if loneliness itself could be mitigated, it may not be as big of a problem as it is now, and people can be happier as a result.
