[News] Social networks are key to good health. That has some doctors seeking strategies to cure loneliness

Posted: Dec 19, 2023

According to a recent poll of people in more than 140 countries, almost a quarter of the world's population — or about one billion people — feel lonely. The survey wasn't asked in China, meaning the number of people affected is likely even higher.

Loneliness knows no age. Once thought to be a problem of the elderly, a Statistics Canada survey from 2021 found that one in 10 Canadians over the age of 15 identified as being always or often lonely.

Nor does loneliness know boundaries. A recent survey by the Toronto Foundation found the city to be one of the loneliest in Canada, with residents withdrawing and interacting less with each other.

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