Is the ‘loneliness epidemic’ real?

What does it mean if you say that something is an epidemic? In the case of a virus, it usually means that it is spreading rapidly and that more and more people are getting infected. When a disease is not on the rise but is there in a population at a reasonably steady level, we tend to say that the disease is endemic.

But what if the thing you are talking about is not a virus, but a feeling? In 2023, the US surgeon general launched a report called Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, warning of the health harms of being lonely and socially isolated.

The idea that there is an epidemic of loneliness did not start there - the term was already in use in the US in the 2010s. And it is a phrase that is still going strong, popping up in news stories on a regular basis.

After that warning from the US surgeon general, the World Health Organization launched the Commission on Social Connection, with their director general warning that “more and more people are finding themselves isolated and lonely”

But is it true that loneliness rates are increasing? Is it right to say we’re in the midst of an epidemic of loneliness?

We speak to Prof Melody Ding, an epidemiologist and population behavioural scientist at the University of Sydney.

If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email [email protected]

This programme has been edited to correct a minor technical production error on 27/05/2026

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Tom Colls Sound engineer: Dave O’Neill: Editor: Richard Vadon