You’ll see a lot about how loneliness and the lack of social connections can affect every part of life – from health to financial stability to sense of purpose to longevity – in this quarterly issue of Prime.
And apparently, we weren’t the only ones looking at this issue.
On Dec. 10, 2025, Social Connection in America released its first report, analyzing a survey of 10,000 Americans to determine how connected Americans feel to one another within their communities. Designed to examine this trend for the next 25 years, this first report is a sobering look at how pervasive loneliness is across all generations and the impact our slowly eroding network of connections continues to have on the fabric of American society.
Here’s a startling fact from the 2025 report: 41% of Americans across all age groups feel lonely in America.
Prime was privileged to chat with Steven Michael Crane, MS, a lead data analyst for the Social Connection in America report, and head of the Social Engagement Pillar for Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, about the findings and implications.
“I think on the health front, there’s been a growing awareness, culminating in 2023 in the Surgeon General’s Advisory on the health impact of loneliness and isolation,” Crane shared. He added that as far back as 2010, the scientific lead of Social Connection in America Julianne Holt Lustad, raised a major red flag, finding the impact of disconnection to be as strong as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Crane said the “risk of earlier death has been found to be 32% higher in those experiencing social isolation, and 14% higher in those experiencing loneliness, according to studies referenced in this year’s report.”
These findings, he said, seem to support the belief that “relationships that are healthy and supportive can buffer us against the stress that’s inevitable in our daily lives.”
Crane said the bright spot in the 2025 Social Connections report is that people over age 50 to 85 seem to be the most satisfied with their relationships and connections.
Want to boost your social connections? On January 29, from noon to 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, Crane and fellow researcher Dr. BJ Fogg will be presenting an online webinar with tips for strengthening your relationships. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/28fceuue
For more advice on the importance of making and keeping social connections, including more on the Social Connection in America report findings, visit the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine newsletter for December 2025 at https://lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu and the report’s website at https://socialconnectioninamerica.org/2025-report.
And of course, you’ll find advice from local expert Deb Bibbins, CEO of For All Ages, on making friends, and tips on how to find a great volunteering fit from Ginger Elliott with the Pioneer Valley Chapter of Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, right here in the pages of this quarter’s Prime.
After all I’ve learned putting this issue together, my hope for you, my readers, is that you have a great circle of friends who support you. Who knew lunch with the ladies, or coffee with the guys, could be so important to our overall health?
And as always, thanks for reading,
Debbie Gardner
