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> Few providers have focused on the loneliest population: 18- to 22-year-olds. While typically a low-risk population, young adults experience rates of lonelines

> Few providers have focused on the loneliest population: 18- to 22-year-olds. While typically a low-risk population, young adults experience rates of loneliness and social isolation far higher than any other age group according to Cigna's recent survey. How is that the case? 18-to-22 seems like the easiest stage of adult life to make and keep friends. These are the youngest adults. They go out regularly, meet each other in public venues like clubs and bars, they're often actively dating, especially now with the ubiquity of apps like Tinder. Add to that the fact that they generally either just graduated highschool, or are attending college. College is probably the easiest place to make friends: you spend your entire life there with people your age who are intellectually compatible with you. I don't know how they did that survey, but in my experience 18-22 year olds tend to have the most friends and active social lives of all adult ages. Now, compare that to professionals who often have to relocate for work, and find themselves in a new location where they know nobody. There aren't really many social facilities to help these people make new friends. So I really don't know how they arrived at the conclusion that 18-22s are the loneliest ages. The older people I know, especially in their 30s and 40s, are more prone to social isolation in every respect.

randcraw 8y ago
You probably don't know them, but single/divorced retirees are probably the loneliest folks. With no workplace to provide daily social exchange, unless they belong to a church, meeting others in a social setting becomes a huge challenge for seniors today. It's little wonder that the long venerated "joys of being retired" are undergoing a major rethink these days.
- dunpeal 8y ago
  Oh, yeah, I absolutely agree. Generally, as I become familiar with older populations, the general rule seems has been that the older people get, the harder it is for them to break out of the shell of loneliness. When I left college and started meeting young professionals, they seemed far more lonely than college students. Then when I started meeting older people in their 30s, they seemed lonelier still. Now the loneliest people I know are singles in their 40s. The only exception seems to be that often people in their 30s get married, and then they typically seem less lonely, at least while the marriage is working. For singles, though, there seems to be simple linear correlation between age and loneliness. So I'm sure when I get to know people in their 50s and 60s, they'll be even lonelier than the 40 year old singles I know now.
CM30 8y ago
Wonder if that age group has become lonier in recent times, since the internet, smartphones, technology, etc. You don't need to go out to be 'entertained' like you used to, and I suspect a lot of young people simply find their entertainment online instead.

randcraw 8y ago

You probably don't know them, but single/divorced retirees are probably the loneliest folks. With no workplace to provide daily social exchange, unless they belong to a church, meeting others in a social setting becomes a huge challenge for seniors today. It's little wonder that the long venerated "joys of being retired" are undergoing a major rethink these days.

dunpeal 8y ago
Oh, yeah, I absolutely agree. Generally, as I become familiar with older populations, the general rule seems has been that the older people get, the harder it is for them to break out of the shell of loneliness. When I left college and started meeting young professionals, they seemed far more lonely than college students. Then when I started meeting older people in their 30s, they seemed lonelier still. Now the loneliest people I know are singles in their 40s. The only exception seems to be that often people in their 30s get married, and then they typically seem less lonely, at least while the marriage is working. For singles, though, there seems to be simple linear correlation between age and loneliness. So I'm sure when I get to know people in their 50s and 60s, they'll be even lonelier than the 40 year old singles I know now.

CM30 8y ago

Wonder if that age group has become lonier in recent times, since the internet, smartphones, technology, etc. You don't need to go out to be 'entertained' like you used to, and I suspect a lot of young people simply find their entertainment online instead.