Volunteering can alleviate the feeling of loneliness

How fantasy baseball fights the loneliness epidemic

Experts believe the erosion of traditional community organizations has led to a loneliness epidemic. This deep dive explores how fantasy baseball has filled the gap for some men, providing a stand-in social network.

Governments around the world are struggling to measure loneliness

Funding for policy resources often hinges on measuring the scale of a problem and then being able to measure the effectiveness of interventions, requiring data. Yet defining and measuring loneliness at a country-scale remains challenging. Typically, the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale is sometimes used worldwide or adapted to measure loneliness.

Japan has a government office dedicated to tackling loneliness and isolation

The new government office was established in 2021, following the UK's example. It's designed to combat loneliness and the feelings that can proceed suicides. The office's homepage features a chatbot designed to help individuals answer questions and specifically connect with one of 150 support programs.

Read the Surgeon General's 2023 loneliness report claiming loneliness is an epidemic

This report details the specific health threats linked with loneliness, including that loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of premature death by nearly 30%. Loneliness lowers our capability to mount an effective immune response to viruses and respiratory illness, can cause chronic inflammation on par with physical inactivity, and increases the risks for anxiety, depression, dementia, heart disease and stroke.

Explore this animated story about loneliness that situates modern statistics about isolation

This beautiful "scrollytelling" story—weaving together animations and text as a user scrolls down a page—takes a reader through a typical weekend day in 2021, drawing data from the American Time Use Survey. It underscores the loneliness that many people may experience, highlighting potential unaddressed mental health needs.

Loneliness and isolation aren't the same thing

One can experience loneliness even in a crowded room. Isolation refers to social disconnection whereas loneliness is the distress that comes from lacking human connection and perceived isolation.

Nostalgia is a psychological coping mechanism that can help combat loneliness—but it's created from bias

Researchers have observed that though nostalgia can help counteract feelings of loneliness, our memories of the past are somewhat rose colored. Negative emotions seem to fade faster than positive ones, a phenomenon that they suggest may be a psychological coping mechanism so that memories don't hurt every time they're recalled. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

How do astronauts battle loneliness and depression?

You’re stranded hundreds of miles away from your friends and family, constantly surrounded by coworkers who also are your roommates, and you’re only allowed the shortest of walks outside. There’s also no takeout, and gravity has essentially broken up with you. You might need a little help adjusting mentally. That’s where space psychologists and psychiatrists step in, according to this article.

Helping support others in older age linked to longer life

Analysis of findings from a long-term study of older couples first interviewed in 1987 and then followed for the next five years found that individuals who lend support to friends, neighbors, and relatives live longer. Non-helpers were more than twice as likely to die as helpers during the five-year period. That's even after controlling for factors including age, gender, and physical and mental health.

Finding meaning in work matters, but can also happen outside your job

It's a perennial discussion: How do I find meaning in my work? Visionaries attest to the value of aligning your passions with your paycheck, but it isn't always possible. This podcast weighs the pros and cons of such a pursuit.

How to help teens balance social media use and mental healthcare

While initially alluring, excessive social media use is proven to lead to increased feelings of isolation, mental health declines, increased stress, and general dissatisfaction among teens. Conducting digital audits to track screen time, adding friction (or obstacles) to app usage to reduce mindless scrolling, and investing time in offline activities and hobbies may help.

Fifty-two acts of kindness for each week of 2023

Whether fostering kittens, donating blood, or delivering boxes of biscuits to striking workers, there has never been a better time to help out. Here's a kindness suggestion for each week of 2023.

There’s a psychological explanation for ‘FOMO,’ or the fear of missing out

This video breaks down FOMO—what it is, how it works, and why it happens—showing how social comparison and uncertainty trigger anxiety that pushes people toward risk-taking and constant checking behaviors.

Explore the unexpected ways people use public libraries in this 'This American Life' episode

Libraries serve as far more than book repositories. This episode follows a family experiencing homelessness that spent months living in their local library, Iranian students reuniting with family across the US-Canada border because the library straddled both countries, and a Vermont man who built his own library to house unpublished manuscripts.

People who feel connected to nature also report a higher well-being

Based on data collected from over 38,000 participants across 75 countries, spending time appreciating Earth's beauty appears to increase one's satisfaction with life. Whether it's a hike in the woods, a dip in the ocean, or time spent watching the sunset, the findings held true across a wide range of economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. The findings also indicate that connection to nature fosters experiences of being present and attentive, which are strongly linked to mental health.

Conspiracy theories today are often born from online radicalization

New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose examines how individuals become radicalized while using platforms like YouTube. Hate crimes that took place before the COVID-19 pandemic inspired the podcast, which looks at online commentators, algorithms, and isolation, and possible explanations for how increased online activity can sometimes lead to violent crime.

Social support plays a critical role in recovery from addiction

This engaging TEDx talk from addiction researcher Jacki Hillios explores addiction recovery through a transformative lens and Phoenix Multisport—an innovative program helping people rebuild their lives through active lifestyles. By living out its core message that people are not defined by their disease, the program demonstrates the power of social support in recovery.

Studies show that reading fiction enhances empathy

It might sound like a cliché, but fiction really can make you a better person, objectively speaking. Numerous studies have proven that reading fiction, especially novels, can enhance empathy by exposing people to multiple perspectives and experiences.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Infertility is often not discussed, forcing women and families to grieve privately

Watch this podcast discussion from Weill Cornell Medicine about the emotional journey of infertility for couples and individuals and hear advice about how to navigate the feelings of loss of control, grief, anger, and despair, including suggested tips for supporting individuals struggling with infertility.

In a survey of US Gen Z workers, 53% were freelancing for at least 40 hours per week

Overall, Gen Z has a pretty different attitude about work from previous generations, partly because of the economic hardship they’ve witnessed being born into the Great Recession and coming of age during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing the effectiveness of peacekeeping forces

This podcast episode of Diplomatic Immunity from Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy explores the evolution of UN peacekeeping over its 70-year history. The podcast is joined by Dr. Lise Howard to examine the origins, challenges, and shifting role of peacekeepers—those “blue helmets” deployed where few others will go—in a broader conversation about multilateralism and global conflict response.

The university system has an enrollment problem

Enrollment has dropped over the past few years—especially for men. In this Freakonomics podcast episode, educators and economists explain why they think college enrollment has been on the decline. They also offer solutions and make predictions for the future of college.

Forcing a smile can actually make you feel slightly better

Activating your smile muscles—in this case, with electrical muscle stimulation that forces the corners of the mouth upward—makes people feel more positive, according to recent research. It won't cure depression, but it can have a small effect. Earlier faux smile research using different nonelectrical techniques had similar results, collectively suggesting that a smile may help brighten your day—even though the mechanisms for the happier result remain unclear.

Nonprofit VC funds invest in startups, but have donors instead of LPs

Examples include Andreessen Horowitz’s TxO (Talent x Opportunity) Initiative and Fifth Star Funds, which allows donors to write “Friends & Family” checks for Black tech founders.

Marc Maron helped define the modern podcast with 'WTF'

In 2009, Marc Maron began the "WTF" podcast, hosting a wide range of interesting celebrities in his garage studio. The extended format and unscripted conversations helped define the modern podcast.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.