Why so many people feel lonely – and why it hits the young in particular
«I have hundreds of contacts in my phone – and nobody I would call when I’m feeling low.» – «Everyone around me seems to have a full life. Just not me.»
Do you know thoughts like these? Then you’re less alone with them than you think – and that is exactly the point of this topic. Loneliness is one of the most widespread and at the same time most silenced feelings of our time. In 2025 the World Health Organization set up its own commission on social connection – that’s how seriously it now takes the subject.
1. Being alone is not loneliness
First an important distinction, because this is where the first misunderstanding usually sits:
- Being alone is an objective state: you currently have no company. That can be wonderful – chosen solitude is a source of strength for many people.
- Loneliness is a subjective feeling: the painful gap between the relationships you wish you had and the ones you actually have.
That’s why you can be lonely in a partnership, in an open-plan office or at a party – and deeply connected alone on a hike. It isn’t about the number of people around you but about whether you feel seen.
2. The numbers: more common than most people think
According to the 2025 report of the WHO commission, roughly one in six people worldwide is affected by loneliness. And Switzerland? The Federal Statistical Office’s health survey of 2022 shows that around a third of the population feels lonely at least sometimes.
And now for the finding that surprises many: loneliness is not a problem of old age. Quite the opposite. In Switzerland, 15- to 34-year-olds report feelings of loneliness more often, at around 35 to 37 per cent, than people over 65, where the figure is about 28 to 31 per cent. The WHO arrives at the same picture: worldwide, 17 to 21 per cent of 13- to 29-year-olds are affected – young people lead the statistics.
The generation that is technically the best connected feels the least connected. That should give us pause: contacts on a screen are evidently no substitute for the feeling of genuinely belonging.
3. Why loneliness takes a toll on health
You may already have heard the headline: «Loneliness is as harmful as 15 cigarettes a day.» That figure comes from a large review by the psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad from 2010, which evaluated 148 studies with more than 300,000 people. Getting the interpretation right matters: the comparison refers to a lack of social connection overall, not to the feeling of loneliness alone – and it is an analogy of magnitude, not a medical equivalence. Nobody compared cigarettes with loneliness directly. The core message remains striking nonetheless: sustaining relationships are linked to our health about as strongly as well-known risk factors.
A follow-up in 2015 with more than 3.4 million participants sharpened the picture: loneliness is associated with a 26 per cent increased risk of premature death, social isolation with 29 per cent, living alone with 32 per cent. And the WHO estimates that loneliness roughly doubles the risk of depression. It links around 871,000 deaths a year worldwide to a lack of social connection – a modelled estimate, not a direct cause-and-effect calculation, but a clear signal of how serious the topic is.
4. Why talking about it is so hard
Loneliness is doubly cruel: it hurts – and it carries shame. «Anyone who is lonely has failed», an inner voice whispers. So many stay silent, withdraw further, and the spiral turns. This silence often hits men particularly hard, because for many, vulnerability still counts as weakness – why that is, is described in the article Why men stay silent.
Yet loneliness is not a character flaw. It’s a signal – just as thirst signals that you’re short of water, loneliness signals that you’re short of connection. A warning light, not a verdict.
5. What you can concretely do
🟢 Go for quality over quantity.
You don’t need a large circle of friends. One or two relationships in which you can be honest weigh more than fifty loose contacts. Ask yourself: with whom could I go deeper – and when did I last actively invite that person?
🟢 Take the first small step.
Loneliness doesn’t wait for others to find you. A message to an old friend, a «fancy coming for a coffee?» at the office, a club, a course. Uncomfortable? Yes, perhaps. But connection almost never arises without a small risk.
🟢 Say it out loud.
The sentence «I’ve been feeling pretty lonely lately» is hard – and it almost always opens more doors than it closes. Often it turns out the other person feels something similar.
🟢 Get support if it sits deeper.
If loneliness feels chronic or comes with low mood, you don’t have to get through it alone. Seeking help is not an admission of weakness but an act of taking responsibility for yourself – more on that in the article Why it’s okay to seek help.
Conclusion
Loneliness affects around a third of people in Switzerland – and young people more often than old. It is not a personal failing but a human signal that wants to be taken seriously: by each individual, but also by us as a society. The way out rarely begins with a great leap, but with a small, courageous step towards another person.
Do you often feel alone inside despite a full daily life?
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