Many of us have been wondering when the next pandemic would be coming around or at least the next declared state of emergency, allowing the government to continue seizing extraordinary powers. Well, you won’t need to hold your breath waiting because it’s already here, only it’s not something that escaped out of a lab in Wuhan (this time). According to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the country is in the midst of a public health epidemic of loneliness. And he claims that the condition exposes people to health risks on par with smoking. (Associated Press)

Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic.

About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, Dr. Vivek Murthy said in an 81-page report from his office.

“We now know that loneliness is a common feeling that many people experience. It’s like hunger or thirst. It’s a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing.”

While I’m not sure about making some sort of comparison between the physical damage caused by smoking and an emotional condition, I’m not going to dismiss the idea that loneliness can lead to bad outcomes or that it isn’t a problem. Emotional distress is very real and for some people, it can spiral out of control.

But at the same time, I’m not sure where Dr. Murthy is getting his data from. He’s saying that half of all Americans “say they’ve experienced loneliness.” I’m guessing that means “at some point.” If so, I’m shocked the number isn’t higher. It seems like everyone has been lonely at some point in their lives. But sustained loneliness is different. Gallup just released a poll on this topic last month and they reported that 17% of Americans reported feeling lonely. And that number was down significantly from a high of 25% seen at the height of the pandemic lockdowns.

But even 17% is nearly one in five, so that’s a lot of people. So why is there so much loneliness going around? I have a few guesses that seem like fairly obvious reasons.

First and foremost, we’ve seen a sustained decrease in both marriage and childbirth. These are symptoms of the breakdown of the nuclear family. People who remain single and childless are just going to be alone more often. This was never an issue for me while growing up. I sometimes wished for a bit more alone time living in a house with both of my parents and several siblings. And I’ve now been blessed to have a wonderful wife who I’ve been with for more than 30 years and several pets. I’m rarely lonely.

Another factor is the continued decline in church attendance. Even if you are single, getting out of the house every week to go worship with others in your community offers the opportunity of meeting like-minded friends and hopefully getting together for activities outside of the church. For the non-spiritual among you, community groups such as book clubs or hobby groups might serve as a substitute.

And then there is the internet, which is the source of so many bad things. The pandemic sent many people away to work from home and many have made those changes permanent. If you don’t have a spouse or partner, you’re going to wind up spending a lot of time alone. And typing out comments in a podcast chatroom or trading memes on social media is not really a substitute for face-to-face engagement with another human being, though it might help a little.

But here we are, and now the Surgeon General has declared a public health emergency. So what does that mean? At least for now, not much. The announcement reportedly “won’t unlock federal funding or programming.” At least for now, anyway. But if they don’t come up with another emergency soon, don’t be surprised if the loneliness epidemic is upgraded.