Just 17% of Americans under 30 feel they have deep social connections, new Harvard survey shows
Just 17% of U.S. adults under the age of 30 report feeling "deeply connected to at least one community," according to a recent poll from The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. The survey polled 2,096 Americans throughout the country between the ages of 18 and 29 years old.
Less than half of young Americans polled feel that they have a sense of community anywhere. And almost 1 in 3 are still searching for a sense of belonging or feel they just don't have one.
The cause of this loneliness epidemic isn't easy to pinpoint, experts say. Some people blame social media for the high levels of isolation, and others believe it's a systemic issue and has more to do with concerns about the state of the future.
"This is a generation that's weathered pandemic isolation during formative years, entered an unstable economy, and faced skyrocketing housing and education costs — all while being told they're not resilient enough," said John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Institute of Politics, in the survey's release.
Although the source of the problem isn't obvious, experts like Kasley Killam, a Harvard-trained social scientist, are offering solutions on how to increase feelings of social connectedness.
In Killam's "The Art and Science of Connection," she suggests the 5-3-1 guideline, a research-backed method for maintaining social fitness.
Similar to getting your 10,000 steps in for physical fitness, here's how you can practice Killam's social workout plan.
"The 5-3-1 guideline is meant to be like a reference point for people," Killam told CNBC Make It in June of 2024.
To follow the guideline, you should:
"Those numbers might be high or low for a given person," Killam said. "But in general, drawing from the research on the amount of time and amount of relationships that people have who are really thriving, that's a great starting point."
A popular Harvard study, that's still ongoing, has spent the past 87 years tracking the health records of more than 700 participants to determine what leads to a long, happy life. The No. 1 thing the study found was that the happiest people who live the longest have positive relationships and maintain social fitness.
Social fitness involves fostering healthy personal relationships that are balanced, according to Marc Schulz and Robert Waldinger, directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.
Schulz and Waldinger suggest having different friends for different things. Ideally, aim to have someone, or more than one person, that can help you strengthen each of these areas:
And don't let fear stop you from putting yourself out there to get closer to the people in your life or meet new people, they suggested in an article they wrote for Make It in February of 2023.
"Whether it's a thoughtful question or a moment of devoted attention, it's never too late to deepen the connections that matter to you."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
30 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
Have We Forgotten How to Accept Ourselves?
Even in the uncertainty of 2023—when inflation weighed heavy and families tightened their budgets—plastic surgery in the United States still saw a 5 to 7 percent increase, depending on which reports you trust. That means, while Americans delayed vacations or skipped dinners out, many still prioritized cosmetic surgery. And these numbers only reflect U.S. data; when you consider the countless people who travel abroad for cheaper procedures, the global increase is likely much greater. The question is: why? Some argue it's Zoom culture: staring at our faces on endless calls. Others blame Instagram filters or TikTok beauty standards. And while these may play a role, the deeper truth is harder to ignore. We are a society increasingly convinced that altering our outsides will heal what is restless on the inside. I stumbled down this rabbit hole myself online. One minute I was reading about mRNA, the next I was watching a woman describe how fat injections in her buttocks were decaying, releasing the smell of rotting meat. People in the comments accused her of being unhygienic, but the truth was simpler: when too much fat is injected and the body can't supply enough blood, the tissue dies and begins to rot. And as a farmer, I know that is a smell you don't ever want to encounter. From there, I couldn't stop scrolling. Women stacked surgeries on top of surgeries—breast implants, ab implants, butt lifts, nose jobs—until their bodies hardly looked human. My mind recoiled, not because of beauty standards, but because it no longer registered as natural. What level of disconnection from family, faith, and purpose does it take to risk your health in pursuit of a body unrecognizable to nature itself? Even when I lived in Los Angeles and was running restaurants, I saw the same thing in person. A customer would sit down with a face so altered by surgery and fillers that it was distracting. I would work hard not to let my expression betray what I was thinking, but it was difficult to listen deeply. Instead of hearing their story, I was caught analyzing how uneven the work looked, how the face no longer made sense to the human eye, and how much it pulled me away from seeing their soul through their eyes. The human-to-human connection was interrupted. I've also watched girlfriends begin with breast implants or lip fillers in their early twenties, then quickly move on to face injections. The irony is that these procedures, meant to keep them looking young, often made them look older—faces puffed up and filled before age had even begun to soften their natural beauty. If women in their 20s are chasing this look, what happens by the time they reach their 50s? Do their husbands look back at photographs of them before the surgeries with longing? The most shocking part is how dangerous some of these procedures really are. Take the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL). For years, it held the title of the deadliest cosmetic procedure, with a mortality rate estimated at 1 in 3,000 surgeries—a risk far greater than abdominoplasty, which is closer to 1 in 10,000 to 13,000. Even with improved techniques, more recent studies still put the BBL death rate between 1 in 2,351 and 1 in 6,241—numbers that remain alarmingly high. Yet the procedure is booming in popularity, particularly among medical tourists seeking a cheaper price tag overseas. In fact, from 2009 to 2022, at least 93 U.S. citizens died in the Dominican Republic after traveling there for cosmetic surgery, with deaths spiking in recent years. So the question becomes: Why is one of the riskiest surgeries gaining more popularity than ever? Along the way, I also discovered something else: breast implants can impact breastfeeding. While most women can still nurse their babies, especially if the implants are placed under the muscle, certain procedures—like those done through the nipple—carry a risk of damaging milk ducts or reducing supply. And while the majority can breastfeed successfully, why risk it at all? Breastmilk is foundational to human health. This contradiction troubles me. We argue, rightly, that children shouldn't be pushed into gender surgeries—that God doesn't make mistakes, and we aren't born in the wrong body. But if that is true, why don't we question the culture that pushes women and men alike toward ever-more extreme cosmetic procedures? Why isn't there the same level of alarm about a society cutting into perfectly healthy bodies out of dissatisfaction with the mirror? My mother used to say, 'Don't put makeup on the mirror.' Whenever I wanted to change something outside of me to fix how I felt inside, she reminded me the work was internal. Wherever you go, there you are. Surgery won't change that. Of course, there are exceptions. Plastic surgery saves lives after accidents, restores dignity after trauma, and, in small doses, can offer people confidence. I don't deny that. I've even had it myself—after my earring was ripped out on a Super Bowl Sunday, I waited too long in the ER, and the initial repair didn't take. Doctors eventually had to cut into the interior of the earlobe and re-stitch it. That's plastic surgery too, and I'm grateful for it. But what troubles me is the cultural obsession with total reinvention, as though we could stitch our way into peace of mind. Underneath it all, I believe this obsession comes from the same root as so many of our modern crises: our disconnection from nature. When we are cut off from healthy soil, from true food, and from the basic rhythms of God's design, we lose our grounding. We feel alone, unmoored, and disconnected from who we really are. And in that emptiness, we look for comfort in the mirror, in the surgeon's office, or in the endless scroll of social media—rather than in creation, community, or the Creator Himself. Here's the truth: altering our bodies may give us confidence for a season, but it cannot fix what is emotionally broken. It cannot substitute for faith, family, or purpose. Only we can do that inner work. And only God can give us the lasting acceptance we crave. Until we remember that, we will keep filling operating rooms—hoping a new face or figure will finally make the mirror smile back.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
FACT FOCUS: A look at RFK Jr.'s misleading claims on US dietary guidelines and Froot Loops
The food pyramid that once guided Americans' diets has been retired for more than a decade, but that has not stopped President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from regularly criticizing the concept. He often highlights the pyramid, misrepresenting dietary standards and criticizing health initiatives of the Biden administration. Such claims were featured in a video aired Tuesday, before his appearance on Fox News' 'Jesse Watters Primetime.' Here's a closer look at the facts. KENNEDY: 'The dietary guidelines that we inherited from the Biden administration were 453 pages long. They were driven by the same commercial impulses that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid." THE FACTS: The original food pyramid did not mention any specific products. But at the very top, it recommended that oils, fats and sugar be consumed 'sparingly.' Grains such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta were on the bottom tier, where six to 11 portions a day were recommended. The current dietary guidelines are 164 pages long, not 453. They were released in December 2020 during Trump's first term, along with a four-page executive summary. A scientific report used to develop the dietary guidelines is published every five years by an advisory committee. The latest report, released in December by the Biden administration, is 421 pages long. Trump's first administration released an 835-page scientific report in July 2020 that informed the current guidelines. 'The dietary guidelines include several documents, including a scientific report which summarizes the scientific evidence supporting the dietary guidelines,' said Laura Bellows, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. 'It can be long due to the comprehensive nature of the document. That said, these findings are distilled down into concise guidelines that are foundational to the creation of consumer information and educational materials.' 'It's a bit trickier than just one grouping,' Bellows said in an email. She said Froot Loops 'would fall more in foods that we should 'moderate' ... but does contribute to the grain group.' The cereal is high in sugar, she added, but does have fiber and other key nutrients. The Agriculture Department introduced an updated pyramid guide in 2005 that incorporated new nutritional standards. It retired the pyramid idea altogether in 2011 and now uses the MyPlate concept, which stresses eating a healthy balance of different foods based on factors such as age and sex. MyPlate recommends making half of the grains one eats in a day whole grains and cutting back on added sugars. Similar to the food pyramid, this puts Froot Loops, which has whole grains and added sugars, in both categories. 'MyPlate, not the Food Pyramid, has been the visual graphic for the US Dietary Guidelines since 2011,' said Bellows. 'So, referring to the 'top of the pyramid' is a dated reference.' The agency said Kennedy is committed to ensuring those guidelines 'are grounded in gold-standard science and reflect a clear focus on healthy, whole, and nutritious foods.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
FACT FOCUS: A look at RFK Jr.'s misleading claims on US dietary guidelines and Froot Loops
The food pyramid that once guided Americans' diets has been retired for more than a decade, but that has not stopped President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from regularly criticizing the concept. He often highlights the pyramid, misrepresenting dietary standards and criticizing health initiatives of the Biden administration. Such claims were featured in a video aired Tuesday, before his appearance on Fox News' 'Jesse Watters Primetime.' Here's a closer look at the facts. KENNEDY: 'The dietary guidelines that we inherited from the Biden administration were 453 pages long. They were driven by the same commercial impulses that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid." THE FACTS: The original food pyramid did not mention any specific products. But at the very top, it recommended that oils, fats and sugar be consumed 'sparingly.' Grains such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta were on the bottom tier, where six to 11 portions a day were recommended. The current dietary guidelines are 164 pages long, not 453. They were released in December 2020 during Trump's first term, along with a four-page executive summary. A scientific report used to develop the dietary guidelines is published every five years by an advisory committee. The latest report, released in December by the Biden administration, is 421 pages long. Trump's first administration released an 835-page scientific report in July 2020 that informed the current guidelines. 'The dietary guidelines include several documents, including a scientific report which summarizes the scientific evidence supporting the dietary guidelines,' said Laura Bellows, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. 'It can be long due to the comprehensive nature of the document. That said, these findings are distilled down into concise guidelines that are foundational to the creation of consumer information and educational materials.' Experts said that Froot Loops, a breakfast cereal, would have fallen into multiple categories under the pyramid concept, offering vague guidance to consumers. 'It's a bit trickier than just one grouping,' Bellows said in an email. She said Froot Loops 'would fall more in foods that we should 'moderate' ... but does contribute to the grain group.' The cereal is high in sugar, she added, but does have fiber and other key nutrients. The Agriculture Department introduced an updated pyramid guide in 2005 that incorporated new nutritional standards. It retired the pyramid idea altogether in 2011 and now uses the MyPlate concept, which stresses eating a healthy balance of different foods based on factors such as age and sex. MyPlate recommends making half of the grains one eats in a day whole grains and cutting back on added sugars. Similar to the food pyramid, this puts Froot Loops, which has whole grains and added sugars, in both categories. 'MyPlate, not the Food Pyramid, has been the visual graphic for the US Dietary Guidelines since 2011,' said Bellows. 'So, referring to the 'top of the pyramid' is a dated reference.' Kennedy's other criticism of Froot Loops has focused primarily on its manufacturer's use of artificial dyes to enhance its color. He has made getting rid of artificial colors in foods an important part of his 'Make America Healthy Again' plan. Asked for comment on Kennedy's remarks, the Health and Human Services Department said work is on track to release the final 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The agency said Kennedy is committed to ensuring those guidelines 'are grounded in gold-standard science and reflect a clear focus on healthy, whole, and nutritious foods.' ___ Find AP Fact Checks here:
