We live at a time when we can instantly communicate with distant friends and family members using a few mouse clicks or taps on a touchscreen. Despite advances in communications technology and the increasing connectedness it brings, research indicates that, as a society, we are lonelier than we have ever been.
A 2020 report published by Cigna shows that more than half (61 percent) of U.S. adults report feeling alone sometimes or always. This number paints an exceptionally bleak picture since it is based on data collected in mid-2019-before the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread public health measures that resulted in extraordinary levels of social isolation.