Portfolio: Loneliness Epidemic

This article, “Former U.S. surgeon general discusses national loneliness epidemic during Macon visit,” was published in The Macon Melody on February 25, 2026.

When Dr. Vivek Murthy talks about loneliness, he does not describe it as a fleeting emotion or a private struggle. He describes it as a public health crisis hiding in plain sight — one with consequences as severe as smoking or obesity.

Murthy, who served as the 19th and 21st surgeon general of the United States, was in Macon this week to discuss his work addressing what he has called a national loneliness epidemic. His visit included an exclusive interview with The Macon Melody, conversations with community members and a question-and-answer session about his work with Georgia Supreme Court Justice Verda M. Colvin of Macon.

The visit was organized around The Together Project, an initiative Murthy launched to strengthen social connection and rebuild community. Support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation made the visit possible, reflecting Macon’s designation as a Knight City — one of 26 communities nationwide where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers.

Murthy said what he has seen locally reinforces his belief that solutions to loneliness do not begin in Washington, but in communities willing to take responsibility for one another.

“I love the time I’ve had in Macon,” Murthy said. “It’s partly because people are incredibly nice and hospitable, but it’s also actually because of this incredible innovation that I’m seeing here in Macon when it comes to building community.”

What the loneliness epidemic is

Loneliness, Murthy said, is often misunderstood.

“Loneliness is a subjective term,” he said. “It’s when the connections we need in our life are greater than the connections we actually have, and in that gap, we experience loneliness.”

That definition is distinct from isolation, he said, which measures how many people someone is physically around. Many people who feel lonely are surrounded by others — students on college campuses, workers in busy offices or parents embedded in school communities — yet still lack meaningful connection.

“If you don’t feel like the people around you know you, that you can be yourself around them, that they understand you, that they might show up for you in a crisis, then you can feel lonely, even though you’re surrounded by lots of people,” Murthy said.

The health consequences are no longer theoretical. Murthy pointed to research showing the mortality impact of social disconnection.

“That means the life-shortening impact of social disconnection is on par with smoking and obesity,” he said.

Loneliness is associated with a doubling of the risk of depression, increased anxiety and suicide risk, and elevated rates of physical illness, Murthy said. People experiencing loneliness face nearly a 30% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and a 50% increased risk of dementia among older adults.

“The more we understand about the consequences of loneliness, we realize it’s telling us that social connection is a fundamental human need,” Murthy said.

How the country got here

Murthy said there is no single moment that caused the crisis, but rather decades of social change that have slowly pulled people apart.

“We move around a lot more,” he said. “We move for school, move for work. That’s great in some ways, but the consequence we haven’t quite mitigated for is the fact that that means we leave communities behind.”

Participation in institutions that once anchored social life — faith organizations, service groups, recreational leagues — has declined, Murthy said, weakening the informal networks that once sustained connection.

Technology has also reshaped daily life in ways that were not fully anticipated.

“I don’t think we recognized just how profound the unintended consequences of technology would be, and specifically to our connection with each other,” he said.

Social media, in particular, has shifted people’s focus from the quality of relationships to the quantity of them, Murthy said, replacing in-person connections with online interactions that often lack depth.

“What it has ultimately ended up doing for too many people is it has replaced their in-person connections with online connections, and the quality of those connections is not the same,” he said.

For young people, Murthy said, constant exposure to curated images online has fueled comparison and eroded self-esteem, making real-world connection harder.

“I feel good about my life until I check out my feed on social media, and then I realize my life isn’t so good,” he said, describing a refrain he heard repeatedly while traveling the country.

What can be done

Murthy said communities like Macon are demonstrating that addressing loneliness does not require sweeping legislation or large institutions.

“Community is a place where we know each other, where we help each other and where we find purpose in lifting each other up,” he said.

During his visit, Murthy said he met residents organizing mental health programs, men’s groups, interchurch partnerships and informal parent networks — often without pay or formal recognition.

“They’re doing it because they have an interest in figuring out how to make their community stronger,” he said.

The Together Project, Murthy said, aims to elevate that work, direct more resources to grassroots efforts and help community builders learn from one another nationwide.

“We want to make sure that investing in and building community has to be one of our top priorities,” he said. “It affects our health, our economy, our educational outcomes and ultimately our sense of social cohesion.”

He praised Macon’s use of small grants to support neighborhood-level ideas, noting that many effective solutions begin with modest investments.

“A lot of people have a lot of good ideas for how to help their neighborhood,” Murthy said. “If you can give them a small grant and enable them to get started, that can make a really big difference.”

The underestimated antidote

Asked what people most underestimate in their ability to reduce loneliness, Murthy did not point to technology, therapy or formal programs.

“We underestimate how powerful service is as an antidote to loneliness,” he said.

Small acts — checking on a co-worker, helping a neighbor, calling a grieving friend — help forge connections while restoring a sense of personal worth, Murthy said.

“One of the great dangers of loneliness is that it can erode our sense of self-worth,” he said. “Service helps us understand our worth and helps us build a connection to other people.”

Even something as simple as smiling, Murthy said, can make a difference.

“Smiling quite literally changes our mood, and it also has a positive impact on the people that we smile at,” he said.

At a time when many feel overwhelmed by the scale of national problems, Murthy said the path forward begins locally — and immediately.

“All of us have the power to start building the community that we seek,” he said. “That means we can start today.”