It is said that you can be surrounded by lots of people – family, friends, colleagues, and latex salesmen – and still feel alone. However, social isolation has metastasized into a global public health crisis, whether in the United States or Japan. Research suggests this phenomenon has a massive economic impact on the Land of the Free and a significant effect on Americans’ health.
An August 2024 paper by the Center for BrainHealth found that loneliness costs the US economy $460 billion, primarily through absenteeism. It is not surprising: if you have no one to walk with and are all by yourself, why bother waking up at 6 a.m. to commute two hours to work in an open-office setup and spend $20 for salad?
That said, interestingly enough, this estimate does not include other adverse effects on the economic landscape, such as workforce participation and productivity. So, you can deduce that the figure is a lot larger.
While it might not be the only factor, similar research over the years has shown a correlation to the explosive growth of smartphone and social media usage. Suffice it to say, it seems the main companion for adults is an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy.
The prevalence of loneliness is gaining traction, but only because more people are affected by it, says María Teresa Sancho, director general of the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services. “The current growing interest in loneliness is a response to the substantial increase in the number of people that are affected by it, and greater awareness of its implications for public health and quality of life, which has become a global issue,” Sancho said last year.
In Spain, the associated costs of social isolation were about $1,287 per person in 2021.
Of course, every crisis presents an opportunity. Experts call it the loneliness economy, one of the fastest-growing industries today, comprising artificial intelligence (AI) friends, therapy mobile applications, and other tools that are supposed to reimagine the human touch. Other places adapted to conditions long before AI, such as Japanese restaurants that installed focus booths that ostensibly replicated office cubicles.
Long-term, however, social isolation will have a far greater economic impact on health care. Many might rejoice at the thought of being home alone, listening to Franz Schubert, reading Soren Kierkegaard, and eating sushi. This might be OK for brief stints, but it can have more serious health consequences over time.
The Center for BrainHealth also wrote in its paper that loneliness can have measurable effects on the brain, reshaping its function and even its physical structure. It disrupts important areas such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus, which can undermine memory, decision‑making, and the ability to understand social cues.
In the long run, persistent loneliness also amplifies stress and anxiety, often reflected in irregular cortisol levels and inflammation in the brain, both of which can harm neural structures. As the years of loneliness, misery, suffering, and unhappiness pass, these changes are then associated with higher risks of dementia, stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Yikes! It seems we may have to rethink Groucho Marx’s classic joke: “A woman is an occasional pleasure, but a cigar is always a smoke.” Or the Rodney Dangerfield bit: “I tell ya, my kid, he drives me nuts. For three years now, he goes to a private school. He won’t tell me where it is.” Quick, no more jokes; we need spouses and children!
As eminent economist Thomas Sowell explained decades ago, “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.” Society shifted from neighborhood barbecues and kids playing on the street to DoorDash deliveries and children glued to screens inside.
Social hallmarks have been gradually chipped away since the advent of radios, with families preferring to catch Suspense or Amos ‘n’ Andy on a Thursday night than making a trip to friends 20 minutes away. Because many were home watching the Seinfeld finale, traffic in Los Angeles was quite light, allowing the ambulance carrying Frank Sinatra to reach the hospital faster than usual.
Today, whether due to the cost of living or fatigue, many people just want to be home to rest. But this can be a self-fulfilling cycle: the longer you are home, lounging on the sofa to binge-watch Peter Gunn on Amazon Prime, the harder it is to leave your humble abode, which can worsen your emotional, physical, and mental health.
Fifty years from now, when Generation Zers are old and gray, many will lack interesting stories. They will have been chained to sofas and their smartphones for so long – research shows Gen Z spends more than six hours a day on their mobile devices – that they will not have lived through fascinating scenarios. No knee-slapping yarns, no tales calculated to keep you in suspense, and no lasting memories (repetition erodes the efficacy of your brain and speeds up your perception of time).
So, who needs a friend this weekend?
