Somewhere between TikTok scrolls, Uber Eats deliveries, and gym selfies, we stopped hanging out. Like, really hanging out. Not “FaceTiming while doing laundry” hanging out, I mean in-person, bad jokes, eye contact, shared air kind of hanging out. And the result? The most connected generation in history is also the loneliest.
A Harvard study in 2023 found that 61% of young adults aged 18–25 report feeling “seriously lonely.” That’s not a glitch, that’s a gut punch. We live in an age of constant noise but zero signal. Everyone’s talking, nobody’s listening, and somehow, everyone’s exhausted.
The New Isolation Isn’t Solitude, It’s Numbness
Our grandparents worked two jobs, came home covered in grease, and still had neighbors who’d show up with casserole. We? We can order dinner, therapy, and a date without leaving the couch. Convenience has replaced connection.
And don’t get me wrong, solitude can be sacred. But isolation? That’s poison disguised as independence. It’s scrolling through “motivational” clips at 2 a.m., convincing yourself you’re grinding while your soul just wants a hug and a laugh.
A 2023 report from the Journal of Adolescent Health found that chronic loneliness in young adults correlates with a 30% rise in depressive symptoms and significantly higher inflammation markers, the kind that age your body from the inside out. Loneliness doesn’t just hurt emotionally. It literally changes your chemistry.
Here’s the hard truth: most people don’t feel alive because they don’t have a why. We’ve traded passion for passivity. College grads don’t dream, they “optimize.” Every kid used to want to be a hero; now they just want to be verified.
Purpose used to come from family, faith, and craft. Now it’s built from hashtags, hustle porn, and brand deals. And when purpose gets replaced with performance, burnout becomes the norm.
A Stanford psychology paper found that people who rate high in “purpose in life” show lower cortisol levels and live up to seven years longer. Purpose isn’t just motivational fluff, it’s literally biochemical armor.
The Friendship Deficit
Here’s something no one wants to admit: we’re bad at friendship now. Like, functionally bad. According to the American Survey Center, the number of men with no close friends has quintupled since 1990. For women, it’s doubled.
It’s not that we don’t want connection, it’s that we don’t prioritize it. We treat relationships like push notifications: swipe away when we’re busy, check back when we’re bored.
But your brain doesn’t run on WiFi, it runs on oxytocin. Laughter, touch, shared experience, these are evolutionary nutrients. The same hormones that build muscle after a workout also fire up when you high-five your best friend.
The Cure: Community, Not Content
Rebuilding purpose and killing loneliness starts with doing the thing we’ve been avoiding: being human again. It’s not complicated, but it is inconvenient, which is why it works.
Call people instead of texting. Let your voice crack, let the silence linger. Real conversation has lag.
Join something physical. A gym, a band, a volunteer group, anything where you sweat or create with other people.
Get uncomfortable. Meaningful connection isn’t found in algorithms, it’s found in awkward moments and inside jokes that take years to build.
Serve something bigger than yourself. You don’t have to save the world. Just start by showing up for it.
LEJHIT Truth
We talk about “mental health” like it is an app we can update, but it’s more like a muscle, it withers away without use. You can’t scroll your way out of loneliness. You have to live your way out of it.
And look, we all crave meaning. We all want to wake up and feel like we matter. But the world won’t hand you purpose, you have to forge it. You do that by connecting with people, doing hard things, and staying grounded in something real.
The antidote to loneliness isn’t another self-help quote, it’s community. The cure for low purpose isn’t a viral career, it’s direction.
You’re not broken. You’re just disconnected.
Plug back into life, the real kind. That’s how you get LEJHIT.