Harvard Graduate School of Education's Making Caring Common Project just released their new report on Loneliness in America. They have found that over 1 in 3 Americans face "serious loneliness" during the pandemic, including over 60% of young adults, and that these levels have been increasing since the outbreak of the pandemic. We already know from a recent CDC study that 63% of young adults were already experiencing significant anxiety and depression. The authors call for us to find safe ways to connect meaningfully during this time, to build our social infrastructure and to renew our commitment to one another. And for any physicians reading this, they urge us to ask patients about loneliness as part of routine visits.
Click on the image to read the full report. For those of you with college kids and young adult children, brainstorm with them about ways to find connection. Mothers of young children were also experiencing higher rates of loneliness-- so reach out to them too. And of course, we ALL could use some community loving and care right now, so let's talk. REALLY talk. It's more important than ever right now.