Our widespread feelings of disconnect are causing subtle destruction to stakeholders at every level of society but, even more disturbing, is the way in which it impacts the elements of an individual’s life so profoundly, it causes a shift in their impression of reality altogether. Humans are social creatures, and loneliness is our real-world kryptonite.

To begin with, loneliness is known to be associated with an array of physiological issues. Some temporary, some chronic, some fatal. Research has proven that the long term effects of loneliness are on par with some of humanity’s other deadliest predators such as smoking and obesity. Loneliness also affects the human condition on a psychosocial level. It warps the lens through which we see ourselves in isolation, the people around us, and the world-at-large. It has been categorically linked to depression and anxiety, as have depression and anxiety been named as the catalysts for loneliness and social withdrawal. From a behavioral standpoint, loneliness can manipulate everything that one does, from dawn right through to dusk. Perhaps, most alarmingly, is loneliness completely changes our reality. It robs us of our enjoyment of all of life’s typical endeavors and rots our optimism from the inside out.

When we combine these individual consequences and scope the outcomes at a larger scale (using scientific data on the rates at which loneliness is being experienced), it can be concluded that the loneliness experience comes not only with a collective of personal consequences, but that is it is also significantly detrimental to society-at-large