The social isolation crisis: Making friends costs money but it’s all worth it
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Loneliness and social isolation are often discussed as afflictions of the aging process. Adult children move away, spouses and friends begin to die, and suddenly older people can find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time alone.
The sense of isolation can have severe consequences for well-being. Studies have found that social isolation increases the odds of developing hypertension and dementia and even shortens life spans. Except it isn’t only our aging population that is at high risk for loneliness.
Young Americans age 15 to 24 spend 70% less time in person with friends than the same age group did 20 years ago, one of many alarming findings from a report last year by US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warning of the growing toll of loneliness in America. These Gen Zers grew up communicating on smartphones and were already showing signs of decreased in-person interactions before Covid hit. By the time the pandemic waned, many people had gotten out of the habit of meeting up in real life and felt content with digital relationships.
Spending time in person is vital, as the surgeon general’s report made clear. It also requires commitment—of time, energy and, inevitably, money, whether for meals out, entertainment or other shared experiences. Yet friends can have different values around how to spend their money, especially when they have wound up in starkly different financial positions in adulthood.
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