TIME 100 HEALTH-TITANS

Last May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation-a departure from the type of standard medical conditions his predecessors prioritized.

- Angela Haupt

Vivek Murthy DOCTOR OF HUMAN CONNECTION

While traveling the country, Murthy had heard from college students who felt as if no one truly knew them, and patients who didn't have anyone to pick them up from the hospital. He came to see it as a systemic public-health crisis. In his advisory, he called on governments, community leaders, workplaces, and health systems to help rebuild social connection.

The loneliness crisis intersects with another public-health threat Murthy has drawn attention to: he also issued an advisory about the effects of social media on youth mental health, pointing out that logging hours on TikTok and Instagram can lead to disordered eating and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls. He has pushed policymakers to take steps to strengthen safety standards and promote digital literacy, and tech companies to make changes that prioritize safety and health.

Murthy hopes that starting a conversation about loneliness will help shatter the stigma that surrounds it. "We associate loneliness with not being likable, or being defective in some way— like something must be wrong with you if you don't have people around you," he says. "That's just a fundamental misconception," given that our environment has changed in ways that make it harder to connect.

He's heartened by recent progress. In February, for example, San Mateo County, California, declared loneliness a public-health emergency, and the University of Virginia launched a weekly discussion group led by trained student facilitators. The goal is to nurture meaningful dialogue about how to forge connections. "Our relationships," Murthy says, "are the most tangible and powerful way we can manifest generosity and love." 

Dave Ricks
INNOVATION, AT COST