RealClearPolicy has a good article on the loneliness epidemic. Among other things, it reports polling about which subgroups in our society experience more (or less) loneliness. The article is perhaps most remarkable for what it omits.
The political differences are not stark, but they are significant: 22% of Democrats reported feeling “serious loneliness,” compared to 15% of Republicans. But ignoring politics is not the answer: Non-voters are lonelier than those who participate in elections. By age, older Americans felt less lonely than younger Americans.
It doesn’t help to be poor, either: 29% of Americans earning less than $30,000 a year experience serious loneliness. For those making six figures or higher, the percentage was less than half that. Education is also a factor: 31% of respondents who didn’t finish high school experienced serious loneliness. Among those with at least a four-year college degree did, this figure was 13%.
Reading between the lines, the groups which are likely to be, and stay, married are also the groups least likely to be lonely. Oddly, the article doesn't connect these obvious-to-me dots. It is known that the affluent, educated upper middle class are much more likely to marry, and somewhat more likely to stay married, than their poorer, less educated, fellow citizens.
The other DrC and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in April. In spite of being two highly educated professionals who had independent careers, we would self-describe (and be described by those who know us) as "joined at the hip." In retirement, most things we do together.
