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Topics: Health, Mental Health, Social Media, US News, Science, Community
Britt Jones
Topics: Health, Mental Health, Social Media, US News, Science, Community
A new poll has revealed which gender in the US is the most lonely, calling it an ‘epidemic’.
Gallup revealed a shocking study, citing that one group in America is suffering from isolation, and also took a look into the factors that have caused it.
Not only has the poll provided great insights into this, but psychologists have spoken out on what they believe are contributing factors, and some may not have seen it coming.
Of course, we all feel a little lonely every now and then - particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw us all unable to socialize with the ones we love.
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However, this issue is something much deeper than a four-year lockdown.
The company’s researchers collected data from 2023 to 2024 and found that Gen Z and Millennial’s are lonelier of all, particularly men.
The research found that 25 per cent of men in those age groups are lonelier than American women of the same age (18 per cent), however, they did note that US women ‘consistently report higher levels of sadness and stress than men'.
So, why are these men so lonely?
This feeling of isolation ‘is the coming to a head of a set of forces that have been in existence in boys’ and mens’ lives for generations,’ psychologist Michael Reichert, the founding director of the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives at the University of Pennsylvania and author of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men told Fortune Well.
This ‘phenomenon’ of stress and loneliness ‘is the coming to a head of a set of forces that have been in existence in boys’ and mens’ lives for generations,’ he said.
Justin Wong, a New York City psychotherapist specializing in men’s issues said that the ‘male loneliness epidemic’ results from a lot of things, including ‘the manosphere’ online, which shows toxic-male social media content.
He also added that gaming, porn and the toxic-male environment ‘give this short term dopamine hit and relief that replaces real intimacy and acts as a barrier to being vulnerable to how they might be feeling’.
As well as content, he said that ‘societal norms around what it means to be a man’ and the ‘alpha men’ circle are also a driving force of making young US men lonely.
According to Reichert, the societal norms are internalized early.
He pointed to research which studied 4-year-old boys for two years and found that ‘they changed from being present—authentic, direct, and expressive—to ‘pretense’ learning to play the part by posturing the way the world wanted them to be as boys’.
He said: “The problem, of course, is that when they became less authentic they alienated themselves from even their important relationships, feeling that they had to hide a part of themselves because the world didn’t want that from them… Beginning at age 4.”
The thing about this loneliness epidemic is that it’s actually dangerous to men’s health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that being isolated and alone is as threatening to a person’s health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
“[Loneliness] transcends borders and is becoming a global public health concern affecting every facet of health, wellbeing and development,” African Union Youth Envoy Chido Mpemba told The Guardian.