Free Republic

Today, members of the millennial generation are ages 23 to 38. These ought to be prime years of careers taking off and starting families, before joints really begin to ache. Yet as a recent poll and some corresponding research indicate, there’s something missing for many in this generation: companionship. A recent poll from YouGov, a polling firm and market research company, found that 30 percent of millennials say they feel lonely. This is the highest percentage of all the generations surveyed. Furthermore, 22 percent of millennials in the poll said they had zero friends. Twenty-seven percent said they had “no...

“I’m clearly a textbook case of the silent majority of middle-aged men who won’t admit they’re starved for friendship, even if all signs point to the contrary,” wrote Billy Baker in his recent exploration of male loneliness in The Boston Globe. Perhaps one reason the piece made so many internet rounds is just how many people could relate: Last year Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that Americans are “facing an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation.” Though “I’m going to die alone” is the common grumble among single people, scientifically, it’s more like, “I’m going to die if I’m alone.”...

Every Wednesday, the second hour of my national radio show is the “Male/Female Hour.” A few weeks ago, a woman named Jennifer called in.For reasons of space, I have somewhat shortened her comments. Every young woman should read them. This is precisely what she said:“Dennis, I want to get right to it. I’m 50 years old with four college degrees. I was raised by a feminist mother with no father in the home. My mother told me get an education to the maximum level so that you can get out in the world, make a lot of money. And that’s...

Young people are significantly more likely than the elderly to be lonely and in poor health, according to a new survey conducted by health insurer Cigna. The survey finds loneliness is widespread in the U.S. with nearly half of respondents reporting feeling alone or left out at least some of the time. The evaluation of loneliness was measured by a score of 43 or higher on the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a 20-item questionnaire developed to assess subjective feelings of loneliness, as well as social isolation. The survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and older revealed: •...

Steve talks in a way that makes you want him to keep talking. His warm humour immediately puts you at ease, which makes it difficult to process what he is describing: a period in his late 20s, about two decades ago, when loneliness felt so engulfing he could barely speak. He craved the company of friends, but when they visited, he gave them cold cups of tea to make them leave. “I’d be at home absolutely desperate to see somebody, but then all I wanted was for them to get out. I’d try to get rid of them as soon...

In memory of British lawmaker Jo Cox, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist in 2016, the U.K. government has announced the appointment of a new “Minister of Loneliness.” Conservative MP Tracey Crouch was named to the post by British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday. The recommendation for the appointment came from the Jo Cox Foundation, a registered charity that was set up in Cox’s memory after her death.

Merriam-Webster has just announced its “word of the year” for 2017. Drum roll, please…it’s feminism! The word peaked as an online search after various events occurred this past year, beginning with the Women’s March in January, then again when the film “Wonder Woman” was released, and now it has spiked yet again as a result of the #MeToo movement, which Time magazine has recognized as its “Person of the Year.” The word feminism was simply “in the air” this year, notes Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large. Except it kind of wasn’t. For instance, nobody marched in the Feminist March...

This Christmas, please pray to the Christ Child for the lonely and the heartbroken. Pray that they turn to the Savior for the enduring kind of consolation that He, and only He, can give them There’s probably someone like this in your neighbourhood. A man who lives up the road from me, lost his wife to cancer in September and faces this Christmas feeling lost, lonely and heartbroken at the prospect of having to spend his first Christmas without his loving wife of more than 30 years. To him, the strains of every Christmas carol, every lighted tree he sees...

There’s a Way to Stop Mass Shootings, and You Won’t Like It.That’s right. You’re not going to like it because it’s going to require you to do something personally, as opposed to shouting for the government, or anyone to “do something!”You ready? Here it is:“Notice those around you who seem isolated, and engage them.”If every one of us did this we’d have a culture that was deeply committed to ensuring no one was left lonely. And make no mistake, as I’ve written before loneliness is what causes these shooters to lash out. People with solid connections to other people don’t indiscriminately...

Obesity comes with a number of life threatening risks. The condition, for instance, is linked to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and even cancer. However, loneliness is a more threatening killer than obesity, at least among elderly people. The researchers also found that extreme loneliness increases an older person's risks of early death by 14 percent which means that loneliness has a double the impact on early death as obesity. Cacioppo explained that chronic loneliness is associated with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which raises risks of strokes and heart attacks. It is also linked with high blood pressure and...

The majority of people feel upset and lonely when they are deprived of access to the internet, according to consumer research. A new study has revealed that 53 per cent feel upset when denied access and 40 per cent feel lonely if they are unable to go online. The research found that people experience these feelings even if denied online access for a short time. The scientists reported the volunteers told of physiological and physical symptoms comparable to addicts trying to quit smoking or drugs. These included feeling fidgety, anxious and isolated, and even reaching out for their mobile phone,...

LOS ANGELES — If the mark of a real independent is lack of friends, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the quintessential nonpartisan in American politics right now. His approval rating has not risen above 30 percent since May 2009. California remains in deep fiscal distress. He is despised by the state’s workers (whose pay he cut), Democrats (who loathe his aversion to new taxes and his desire to cut entitlements) and Republicans (who wish those respective aversions and desires were stronger), as well as college students, public school parents and people who hate the smell of cigars. As Governor Schwarzenegger prepares...

In a sense, Christ was always alone in this world. His very greatness of character, made it impossible for Him to find real, deep, and full companionship. All great men are in a sense, solitary men. Their exalted life lifts them above the plane in which other people live... There is infinite pathos in such words as these, which describe His personal loneliness: "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him--and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own--and His own received him not" (John 1:10, 11). He revealed His feeling of aloneness and...

The instrumental of this video is from the chorus of the hymn, In The Garden.

Does Your Pet Seem Almost Human? It May Be A Clever Response To LonelinessHigh five! If people feel lonely, they are more likely to describe a pet as having humanlike mental states. (Credit: iStockphoto/Annette Wiechmann) ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2008) — New research at the University of Chicago finds evidence for a clever way that people manage to alleviate the pain of loneliness: They create people in their surroundings to keep them company. "Biological reproduction is not a very efficient way to alleviate one's loneliness, but you can make up people when you're motivated to do so," said Nicholas Epley, Assistant...

Young women suffer most from loneliness, according to a report from the Swedish National Institute of Public Health. The institute says young women run a higher risk of suffering from anxiety and psychological illnesses. In the survey, more than 73,000 Swedes were asked about their social activities and how many friends and relatives they have. Per Carlson, a researcher at the Swedish National Institute of Public Health, told Swedish Radio news that young women are not more lonely than other groups, it’s just that they are the ones who suffer more serious psychological illnesses from being alone, compared, for example,...

"Thou remainest" (Heb. 1:11). There are always lone hearth-fires; so many! And those who sit beside them, with the empty chair, cannot restrain the tears that will come. One sits alone so much. There is some One unseen, just here within reach. But somehow we don't realize His presence. Realizing is blessed, but--rare. It belongs to the mood, to the feelings. It is dependent on weather conditions and bodily conditions. The rain, the heavy fog outside, the poor sleep, the twinging pain, these make one's mood so much, they seem to blur out the realizing. But there is something a...

Feeling lonely? You're not alone. With seven million people living on their own, Britain is turning into a nation of loners - and it's making us ill. By Jan Masters

BEVERLY HILLS -- For my sins, my wife, who is also by far my best friend, is out of town on a mission of mercy for not only this summer, but for most of the next twelve months. And, although I have lived in Los Angeles for almost thirty years and have many friends here and a lot to do taking care of our many dogs and cats, plus a bit of work to do each day, I am lonely. I walk the streets of Beverly Hills with my dogs and when I see a couple smiling and talking together,...

Washington, DC, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The Kerry-Edwards campaign unveiled Wednesday a list of Republicans it says agreed to lead an effort to convince other GOP'ers to defect in November. The Kerry-Edwards campaign said the roll out of the list and a new Web site is "the beginning of an ongoing national effort by Republicans who have pledged their support for John Kerry." The leadership committee is composed of 29 individuals the Kerry-Edwards campaign identified as Republicans, including CSX Vice-Chairman A.R. "Pete" Carpenter, former National Policy Association CEO and Reagan administration official Malcolm Lovell, and ex-Nixon EPA Administrator Russell Train....