LONELINESS has been announced as the latest public health epidemic in the USA, where Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy says it's just as deadly as smoking half a packet of cigarettes every day.
A new report from Murthy's office says loneliness costs the health sector billions of dollars a year, with the medical leader saying "millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows, and that's not right".
Americans have become less engaged with religious groups and houses of worship, community organisations and even their own families in recent decades, according to Murthy's new report.
The Surgeon General is calling on the entire community to make changes that will boost "connectedness", urging people to join community groups, reconsider remote work policies and use their mobile phones less when catching up with friends.
Murthy also urged health educators to provide additional training to help health professionals recognise the health risks of loneliness.
"There's really no substitute for in-person interaction...as we shifted to use technology more and more for our communication, we lost out a lot on that in-person interaction," he lamented.
The Surgeon General also suggested that social media and other technology providers should implement protections around online activity, particularly for children.
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