Health

What Americans say about loneliness

Illustrations by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

Sy Boles

Harvard Staff Writer

June 26, 2025

1 min read

Quiz digs into data on major public health concern

Research has linked loneliness to a higher risk of disease and premature death, leading in part to the U.S. Surgeon General declaring it an “epidemic” in a 2023 advisory that urged Americans to prioritize social connection and community. In “Loneliness in America: Just the Tip of the Iceberg?,” a report from the Making Caring Common Project at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, researchers found that 21 percent of U.S. adults feel lonely, and many report feeling disconnected from their communities and the world.

We asked Milena Batanova, director of research and evaluation at Making Caring Common and one of the authors of “Loneliness in America,” to help us develop the following quiz digging into the survey’s findings.

Step 1 of 8

12%

1. How much time per day does the average American spend socializing or communicating?

17 minutes

34 minutes

50 minutes

74 minutes

2. Those who experience chronic loneliness are how much more likely to suffer a stroke than those who are not consistently lonely?

15 percent

34 percent

56 percent

75 percent

3. Lacking social connection could be as dangerous to health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day.

True

False

4. According to Making Caring Common's research, which demographic category shows significant differences in loneliness rates?

Income

Education

Political affiliation

Gender

5. Multiracial adults are less likely to be lonely.

True

False

6. Who or what do Americans blame most for the loneliness epidemic?

An overly individualistic society

People lacking the skills to form or keep meaningful relationships

Technology

Deterioration of family life

7. What do people think is the most important way to reduce loneliness?

Learning to love yourself

Meeting a romantic partner

Joining online groups

Reaching out to family or friends

8. Lonely adults are more likely to report lacking a sense of meaning in their lives compared to less or non-lonely adults.

True

False

Δ