Social isolation kills[1]. It increases your risk of death by 30% — roughly the same as smoking cigarettes[2] and much worse than factors such as obesity and sedentary living[3].
Americans are living through what researchers call a friendship recession[4], spending less time with friends than at any point[5] in recent history.
In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General[6] declared loneliness an epidemic[7]. Deaths from factors like...