In the 1966 classic song "Eleanor Rigby," the Beatles told us to look at "all the lonely people" and asked, "where do they all belong?"
Nearly 60 years later, we're still asking.
Health officials have described loneliness as an epidemic and warn that it can lead to anxiety, depression an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes and suicide.
The Centers for Disease Control said that social isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, to the point that it may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.
A report from Morning Consult commissioned by the insurance company Cigna found that more than half of U.S. adults are considered lonely.
These results were fairly consistent with prepandemic research that showed 61% of adults experiencing loneliness in 2019, after a seven-percentage-point increase from 2018.
People from underrepresented racial groups are more likely to be lonely, Cigna said, and young adults are twice as likely to be lonely than seniors.
Musk Tweets His Views on Social Media
Social media was intended to bring people together, but a study in JAMA Psychiatry showed that adolescents who spend more than three hours daily on social media had heightened risks of psychological and mental health issues, including loneliness, depression, and suicide.
Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion and runs Tesla (TSLA) and other companies, weighs in on just about everything that concerns him.
TheStreet's Luc Olinga has written extensively about how the CEO views himself as a kind of global CEO with standing to speak out on any number of topics.
Musk has now shared his thoughts about loneliness.
The Tesla (TSLA) CEO made his remarks on Jan. 12 on a thread about a report on declining friendships among men.
The study found that 15% of men surveyed reported having no close friends in 2021 five times the 3% figure of 1990. Ten percent of women reported having no close friends in 2021, five times the 2% of 1990.
"Maybe we should spend less time on social media … ?" Musk tweeted.
This sounds a bit ironic coming from a man who dropped $44 billion on one of the earliest and most prominent social-media platforms.
But the self-described Chief Twit has been surprising people for quite a while.
Musk's takeover of Twitter has been a tumultuous affair, including mass firings of staff, celebrities departing, and controversial accounts reinstated. The latest news is that Musk may begin selling high-value Twitter usernames via auction as a way to shore up profits.
Strong Response to Social Media Comment
His remarks about social media and declining friendships sparked a number of strong responses.
"We are more lonely and more polarized because our sense of community has been broken." one post read. "Social media is where many gravitate because they are lost & have no other avenue to connect with others."
"Social media is literally the only connection I have to another human," another tweet said "It isn’t because I don’t want to get out and meet anyone. A lifetime of social awkwardness and scars from war have made me believe People wouldn’t be interested in me."
"Very true and so many become 'squeaky wheels' behind a keyboard," one person said. "More harm than good."
Another poster thought that "social media is a socially acceptable way to connect with some people."
"Personally, I feel like people gravitate to social media because it's easier to connect with like minded people, which ironically may be part of the problem," another tweet read. "The ones you do meet in real life are wearing so many masks and not willing to risk their ego to share their true beliefs."
"All the lonely people, where do they all belong?"
