No fewer than 871,000 people die worldwide annually from loneliness, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed on Monday.
According to the WHO commission, one in every six persons globally suffers from loneliness, which, combined with social isolation, can lead to physical sickness.
It claimed that loneliness raises the risk of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and suicide.
According to the World Health Organisation, lonely teenagers are 22% more likely to get lower grades than their peers, and lonely adults have more difficulty finding or retaining a job.
The impact is societal as well as individual, with billions of dollars in healthcare bills and job losses.
Vivek Murthy, the commission’s co-chair, defines loneliness as “a painful, subjective feeling that many of us experience when the relationships that we need do not match the relationships that we have.
“And social isolation, by contrast, is an objective state of having few relationships or interactions.”
The survey estimates that one in every three elderly individuals and one in every four adolescents are socially isolated.
Its reasons include disease, inadequate education, low money, a lack of opportunity for social connection, living alone, and the usage of digital technologies.
Murthy observed that humans have communicated for millennia using not only words but also facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and silence.
When people rely primarily on cell phones and social media, they lose touch with traditional modes of communication.
The WHO cited Sweden as a positive example. Swedish Social Minister Jakob Forssmed said that the country has adopted a national strategy to combat loneliness.
Sweden believes that loneliness is a societal problem rather than an individual one.
Efforts are being made to develop social ties in shops, restaurants, neighbourhoods, and clubs.
Soon, all children and teenagers in Sweden will be given prepaid cards that can only be used to book group recreational activities.
According to Forssmed, Sweden aims to ban mobile phones in public schools.
According to studies, this improves social interaction while decreasing cyberbullying.
Children and teenagers sleep better and find it simpler to put their phones away during leisure time.
Forssmed said that youngsters are frequently frustrated when their parents are continually preoccupied by their phones.
While digital technology brings benefits, such as permitting previously unthinkable video calls.
The commission stressed the necessity of providing spaces in life where people can communicate face-to-face without being distracted by technology.
Murthy said, “Having places and spaces in our lives where we can interact face-to-face with other people without the distraction of technology is very important.”
