Loneliness should be treated as a public-health issue

Loneliness is the painful feeling of a gap between the connection we want and the connection we have. We think societies should treat it as seriously as other risks to wellbeing, not as a private embarrassment.

The case is practical. Social connection is part of what the World Health Organization describes as the social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and age. Robert Waldinger's talk about the Harvard study of adult development, one of the longest studies of its kind, argues that good relationships are closely tied to health and happiness across life. It is one study among many, but it is a reminder of what is at stake.

The objection is that loneliness is subjective and hard to measure, and that official programmes can feel intrusive. We would answer that careful measurement, community-led responses and voluntary participation are possible.

What would change our mind: evidence that programmes aimed at reducing loneliness do not improve wellbeing.

This is a general discussion, not individual medical advice.