The Loneliness Epidemic

Published January 24, 2018 at 10:00 AM CST

FILE - In this May 8, 2013 file photo, a man looks at his mobile phone near a construction site in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)

With guest host Jane Clayson.

Loneliness is now an epidemic , and as bad for us as smoking. We’re looking at the high costs of emotional isolation.

Guests:

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University. ( @jholtlunstad)

Jacqueline Olds, psychiatrist in private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and on the staff at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital.

Vivek Murthy, physician and former surgeon general of the United States. ( @vivek_murthy)

From The Reading List:

Harvard Business Review: Work And The Loneliness Epidemic —”There is good reason to be concerned about social connection in our current world. Loneliness is a growing health epidemic. We live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.”

The Guardian: May Appoints Minister To Tackle Loneliness Issues Raised By Jo Cox — “Theresa May has appointed one of her ministers to lead on issues connected to loneliness, implementing one of the main recommendations of a report into the subject by the Jo Cox Commission.”

Smoking cigarettes. Being obese. Bad for your health. Clearly. As bad, maybe even worse? Being lonely. Turns out, loneliness kills. And it’s on the rise. Britain just appointed a Minister of Loneliness. Across the pond, here in the US, it’s being called an epidemic. The big new public health issue. Millions suffering in silence. This hour, On Point: The devastating effects of loneliness. — Jane Clayson