Some people enjoy being alone more than being with others. They're not lonely, they are loners. That said, the points made in George Will's book review in Ben Sasse Confronts America’s Epidemic of Loneliness makes some interesting points.
Here's an excerpt:
Loneliness in “epidemic proportions” is producing a “loneliness literature” of sociological and medical findings about the effect of loneliness on individuals’ brains and bodies, and on communities. Sasse says “there is a growing consensus” that loneliness — not obesity, cancer, or heart disease — is the nation’s “number one health crisis.” “Persistent loneliness” reduces average longevity more than twice as much as does heavy drinking and more than three times as much as obesity, which often is a consequence of loneliness. Research demonstrates that loneliness is as physically dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and contributes to cognitive decline, including more rapid advance of Alzheimer’s disease. Sasse says, “We’re literally dying of despair,” of the failure “to fill the hole millions of Americans feel in their lives.”
It's ironic that people would feel lonely in a world in which everyone is connected to an electronic communication device. In any event, there are plenty of people who would prefer being left alone. And they aren't lonely.
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3:18 PM 10/15/2018
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