Comprehensive research reveals data on the “loneliness epidemic” in Brazil and around the world

The “loneliness epidemic” has been discussed here on Medscape, ^[1] as it compromises the quality of life and health. It is important to highlight that social connection encompasses rates of social isolation and loneliness, two related but distinct concepts. O social isolation describes the absence of social contacts and relationships, measured by the amount of social interactions. Already the loneliness it involves the quality of relationships and the subjective feeling of being alone, resulting from the discrepancy between desired and perceived levels of interpersonal relationships.

In order to help mitigate the impacts of this “epidemic”, companies Meta and Gallup prepared reports on the prevalence of feelings of social isolation and loneliness. O State of Social Connections ^[2] studied seven countries, including Brazil, while the Global State of Social Connections ^[3] presented data from 142 countries, representing approximately 77% of the world’s adult population and excluding China.

Below is a summary of the data from the two reports, with bold highlights for those related to the Brazilian population.

Study in seven countries

• Around 80% of young people feel supported or socially welcomed. Among young Brazilians, the feeling of social support is lower (66%) than the average of the seven countries, with 34% feeling little or not supported at all.

• The social interactions most frequently reported by respondents were with friends or family who live in the same house or live nearby. Social interaction has the highest levels in Brazil (78%), above the average of the seven countries.

• Social media has been used as much as phone calls to interact with others seeking help or support in BrazilIndonesia and Mexico.

• In Brazil, as well as in the United States, France and Mexico, women were more likely than men to say they needed support or help frequently in the last 30 days. Brazilian women were more likely to receive in-person support or help, and almost 50% of them turned to social media.

Global study in 142 countries

• Considerable gender differences in feelings of social connection and loneliness have been observed in several countries. In Brazil, the numbers on connection and loneliness were worse among women.

• Overall, 72% felt “very” or “appropriately” connected to others; 6% did not feel “completely” connected to other people. In Brazil, 55% said they were very connected, 38% little connected and 5% not at all connected.

• Nearly a quarter of the global population reported feeling “very” or “specifically” lonely, while 49% said they did not feel lonely “at all.” In Brazil, 15% said they were very lonely, 38% somewhat lonely and 47% not at all lonely.

• Although levels of social connection and loneliness are related, they proved to be distinct, with this experience varying between countries in terms of intensity and frequency.

Implications

Comparative analysis with other countries suggests that in Brazil we have: a similar frequency of loneliness, despite a high level of social interactions; lower levels of connection and higher levels of loneliness among women; higher rates of support requests from women; lower rate of social support among young people.

One surprising finding for me was that despite the relative consistency of social connection rates across age groups, loneliness rates showed more variability, with younger adults (ages 19 to 29) reporting more loneliness than older adults (ages 19 to 29) 65 years or older).

This data shows the scale of the “loneliness epidemic” and helps analyze global experiences of social connectivity to understand them and promote improvements around the world. Socioeconomic condition is a relevant factor in this scenario. And, in Brazil, I understand that the data points to the need for more attention and support aimed at young people and women.

This question is very important, since there are no vaccines for loneliness.