Male Loneliness: Is It Really An Epidemic And Is There A Cure?

Ever since the pandemic, people have been talking about loneliness as an "epidemic", including the US Surgeon General in 2023, who noted that "Although risk may differ across indicators of social disconnection, currently, studies find the highest prevalence for loneliness and isolation among people with poor physical or mental health, disabilities, financial insecurity, those who live alone, single parents, as well as younger and older populations. For example, while the highest rates of social isolation are found among older adults; young adults are almost twice as likely to report feeling lonely than those over 65." But recently, there's been more talk about the "male loneliness epidemic", leading to lots of social media chatter, some of it very derisive; contending it is not a "real" phenomenon. But Research Assistant Professor, Dr. Nicholas Allan, who is with Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, tells us that while it is indeed true that one in four American men under 35 report feeling lonely; it is more a result of them being more connected online, than with friends, family, and others in the community. Listen now as Jeanne Destro talks with him about his research, and what he is doing in the University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, to help to men who really are struggling with loneliness: