There are plenty of things Americans disagree on but one shared concern is loneliness. According to a 2024 American Psychiatric Association survey, around 30 per cent of those aged 18-34 feel lonely several times a week. This builds on an earlier Harvard University study, done in the midst of the pandemic, which found that 36 per cent of Americans reported being lonely “almost all the time”. While Democrats were more likely to say so than Republicans, the study showed that the epidemic cut across political, economic, social, cultural, race and gender lines.
The reasons for this crisis are myriad. Despite America’s robust recovery, many struggle with a loss of economic control in a world in which hard work doesn’t bring security or community (something academic Robert Putnam first brought to light in his 2000 book Bowling Alone).
Then there’s frustration over the pace of technological change (particularly its effects on children), and exhaustion with a culture focused mainly on consumption. All of this has led to what Democratic senator Chris Murphy has called a “spiritual unspooling”, in which many people feel disconnected and abandoned by society and its leaders.