Humans are naturally social animals; we live with others and support each other, which has given us an evolutionary advantage. As we age, the risk of becoming socially isolated increases due to widowhood, smaller social networks, family moving away, and aging siblings and friends who have passed away.
Loneliness is often discussed in combination with social isolation, and the terms are often used interchangeably in everyday language. However, researchers have pointed out that the two concepts must be differentiated. Whereas social isolation arises when a person does not have enough people to interact with, an objective state, loneliness is the subjective experience of distress over feeling like you do not have enough social relationships or not enough contact with people. Although the two concepts can be related, a person can be socially isolated but not feel lonely, whereas an individual with a seemingly extensive social network can still experience loneliness.
Social isolation can impact older adults' overall health and well-being. Social isolation is linked with increased death, dementia, depression, and risk of elder abuse. The good news is that you can do several things to decrease social isolation, such as maintaining connections through social activity, optimizing your mobility, leaning on technology and more.
Many also consult their healthcare professionals for psychosocial problems such as social isolation, loneliness, housing problems, or complex grief. Physicians (and other professionals with the ability to prescribe) can now write ‘social prescriptions’ to encourage individuals to connect with community resources or volunteers who can support them and offer them relevant activities and tools.
Explore our resources below to learn more about social isolation, risk factors, and things you can do to reduce it.
