An updated survey from Gallup shows that one in five U.S. adults say they were feeling lonely. The poll asked “did you experience loneliness a lot of the day yesterday?” Gallup said 20% of respondents said “yes.”
Gallup takes this poll four times a year. The recent poll, taken in August and September, showed a slight uptick in loneliness compared to previous polls that hovered around 17% or 18%.
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The recent results, however, show an improvement from when about one in four Americans experienced loneliness during the pandemic.
Those experiencing loneliness were also more likely to evaluate not only their current life, but their future life.
“Significant daily loneliness in the U.S. is closely linked to many aspects of wellbeing, including current life satisfaction and anticipated life satisfaction in five years,” Gallup said in its findings.
Gallup noted that 64% of those experiencing loneliness generally expect to have a positive life score in five years.
“Although loneliness has a detrimental impact on general life satisfaction, it is encouraging that it appears to have a smaller effect on how people see their future lives, leaving room for hope. Hope is a powerful feeling that should not be underestimated. It has fostered resilience for those with clinical depression and deterred terminal illnesses like cancer,” the report says.
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Gallup’s data comes months after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness and isolation a national epidemic, calling it an urgent public health issue.
“Social connection is as essential to our long-term survival as food and water,” Murthy said in a report released by his office.
