In the last few decades, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, politicians, and psychologists have sounded the alarm that we have a loneliness epidemic in America. I set out to find out if they’re right.
I wanted to know what about this time in America has made us feel a few degrees farther from each other than in the past. I wanted to know what actually happens in our bodies and to our health if we lack a fundamental connection to other human beings. And I wanted to know: can we feel connected in that nostalgic, borrow-sugar-from-your-neighbor way in modern day America? Or can we create a new America, where we can feel like part of a group while prizing technology and living alone?
