A Loneliness Epidemic? How Marriage, Religion, and Mobility Explain the Generation Gap in Loneliness

Authors: Cox, D. A., Streeter, R., Wilde, D.

Key Points

• News reports suggest young adults are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. But a new survey finds that only 8 percent of millennials are often lonely. A significantly greater number (40 percent) feel lonely once in a while. More than half rarely if ever feel lonely.
• Higher rates of loneliness among millennials are not due to excessive screen time or social media. Rather, the loneliness gap between generations is primarily driven by marriage, mobility, and religious engagement.
• Loneliness is at least partly a product of our social environment. Americans who mostly interact with people of a different race, ethnicity, or religion are far lonelier than those who regularly interact with people who share their background.