The Loneliness and Isolation Epidemic
Wes Wick
Have you ever watched Alone on the History Channel? Ten bold souls get dropped off in separate remote areas to see how long they can survive completely on their own. With no on-site camera crews, they’re equipped to film themselves.
As time progresses, weather conditions worsen and severe hunger can also become debilitating. Most contestants are well versed in survival skills, but one-by-one they officially “tap out.”
The last person remaining wins a substantial cash prize.
While physical challenges often lead to their demise, the mental and emotional challenge of being completely alone, cut off from human interaction, can also surface as an insurmountable obstacle.
From the beginning God recognized that it was not good for man to be alone. He has wired us for fellowship and community.
Earlier this year the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released an 81-page report on our current epidemic of loneliness and isolation.
“The lack of social connection poses a significant risk for individual health and longevity, increasing the premature death risk as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Sadly, in-person social connections are in severe decline.
“This decline is starkest for young people ages 15 to 24. For this age group, time spent in-person with friends has reduced by nearly 70% over almost two decades.
In 2020, only 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque. This is down from 70% in 1999 and represents a dip below 50%,” a first in the survey question’s history.
We see the Day approaching. All the more let’s follow Hebrews 10:24-25:
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (ESV)