Americans are lonelier than ever.
A recent Harvard report suggests that 36% of all Americans–including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children–feel “serious loneliness.” Representing 11% of the total US population, more than 36M Americans are living alone, up 8% from 1980.
It’s easy to blame COVID but there are larger societal trends that have been at work pre-covid:
Less time for existing friends. American parents report spending twice as much time with their children than fifty years ago, crowding out time for friendship.
Less time for new friends. Nearly 22% of Americans say that it has been at least five years since they made a new friend.
Less organized religion. Religious affiliation has dropped by 10% over the last decade. While spirituality may make up for this void, people are spending less time together on something bigger than themselves.
Human beings are innately social creatures, so the importance of finding belonging is at an all-time high. In fact, some research says that the need to connect is as important as food and shelter.
“Humans require connection and inclusion with others similar to how they require physical safety, food, and shelter.” (Paravati, et al)
Finding belonging fulfills our most basic needs but the playbook for finding belonging has been opaque–until now. My book, set to be published later this year, will address the loneliness epidemic. It will be a highly interactive workbook to accelerate finding your sense of belonging.
The book will include frameworks to measure your sense of belonging and present tools to elevate segments of it. Anyone who has ever felt lonely or simply desired to increase their social connections will find the frameworks and tools useful.