Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Opinion
Sarah Green Carmichael

Where's the Sympathy for Lonely Young People?

For those in their gregarious 20s, social distancing has painful side effects.

Loneliness is harmful to your health.

Loneliness is harmful to your health.

Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Imagine a condition so bad for your health, it reduces your life expectancy as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It weakens your immune system and carries an increased risk of dementia and heart disease. It even causes your wounds to heal more slowly and hurts your ability to recover from cancer.

There is one: loneliness.