People are more connected than ever, so why is loneliness literally killing us? Glenn Beck gives an uncomfortable answer

In this digital age we live in, there’s never been more ways to connect with people thanks to the internet — and yet loneliness and social isolation are so extreme, they were declared an epidemic by the last surgeon general.

The cost of extreme loneliness and isolation is steeper than most realize. In his advisory, Vivek Murthy warned: “Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively. More broadly, lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. In addition, poor or insufficient social connection is associated with increased risk of disease, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke. Furthermore, it is associated with increased risk for anxiety, depression, and dementia.”

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck is deeply concerned for Americans impacted by loneliness.

“Loneliness is not a mood. It’s a medical condition — and it has now a body count in America,” he says, noting that the issue is more prevalent among men.

“In 1995, 55% of American men said they had at least six close friends. Today, that number is 27. … The men with no close friends at all — none, zero — went from 3% to 15[%],” he says.

These dismal statistics, he notes, ironically do not mirror what most people’s social media accounts say.

“You might have 900 friends, 1,400 friends on your phone. …You’re in touch with more human beings before breakfast than your great-grandfather met in his lifetime, so how is it we are starving at this buffet?” he asks.

Research, Glenn explains, has repeatedly pointed to 150 as the number of relationships a community can truly sustain; once a group grows past that, the bonds start to thin.

Today most people are glued to devices that connect them to well beyond 150 people, but few, if any, of those bonds satisfy our deep need for two-way connection.

These devices “[fill] the slots without paying the freight,” says Glenn. “There’s a name for this. It’s called parasocial relationships — it’s a one-way bond in which you accumulate real knowledge, real affection for somebody, but that person on the other end has no idea that you exist.”

Glenn acknowledges that many of his own audience members are engaged in parasocial relationships with him.

“You might have listened to me for 25 years, but you don’t really know me. You know my kids’ names. You know what I sound like. … You’ve been in the car with me more hours than you’ve been in a room probably with your own brother, but I don’t know you. I’d love to, but I can’t,” he says.

“What you feel isn’t fake — and that’s what makes it work. And that’s also what makes it dangerous because it satisfies the hunger without feeding you,” he continues.

To those who think influencers, podcasters, and digital communities can fill their social cup, Glenn offers a stark warning: “I’m not a friend. Neither is the podcaster. Neither is the streamer or the ball player whose name is on your back.”

Close friendship requires time — over 200 hours, according to a 2019 University of Kansas study.

Over time, however, people began spending less and less time face-to-face, and almost without noticing, loneliness and isolation crept in and began eating away at communities and people’s social and emotional health.

“Those 200 hours used to accumulate by accident on a porch, at a shop, after church, in a bowling league, in the driveway, but the accidents have stopped — and nobody replaced them,” Glenn laments. “That’s why we’re lonely.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.