New Study Reveals Loneliness is an Epidemic
Possible loneliness scores range from 20 to 80, with the total average national loneliness score in America reaching 44. Source: Cigna
On May 1st, Cigna, a global health service company, revealed results from a national survey examining the impact of loneliness in the United States.
Using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, one of the best known tools for measuring loneliness, the results showed that of the 20,000 adults (ages 18 and older) surveyed across the country:
- Nearly half (46%) reported sometimes or always feeling alone or left out.
- Roughly 1 in 4 (27%) also reported rarely or never feeling as though there are people who really understand them.
- Only around half of Americans(53 percent) have meaningful in-person social interactions, such as having an extended conversation with a friend or spending quality time with family, on a daily basis.
- Generation Z (adults ages 18-22) is the loneliest generationand claims to be in worse health than older generations. This finding has not been found to have a correlation with social media. Adults within this age group who use social media comparing with adults within this age group who do not use social media were found to exhibit the same percentage of loneliness.
According to David Cordani, CEO of Cigna Corp, “There’s a blurred line between mental and physical health. Oftentimes, medical symptoms present themselves and they’re correlated with mental, lifestyle, behavioral issues like loneliness.”
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