Oprah Winfrey’s Advice to Tackle America’s ‘Loneliness Epidemic’ Is to ‘Reach Out to Someone Who Feels Even Worse Than You Do’

In the latest episode of The Oprah Podcast, Oprah Winfrey talked with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about the loneliness epidemic. America has been struggling with the issue of loneliness, with many believing that this is simply a bad feeling.

Contrary to this popular belief, Murthy claims that this is an epidemic that has become a major public health risk for individuals and society. More than half of young people are struggling with loneliness, and even though we’re even more connected than ever, Murphy argues that our quality of connections has been degrading.

During that conversation, Oprah questioned the difference between solitude and loneliness. She said that she enjoyed being by herself since she was an introvert. Murthy explained that introverts often required welcomed moments of isolation. The problem arrives when those welcomed moments turn unwelcome, as people try to look for confidants but find none.

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Oprah then brought out the fact that, somehow, Gen Z was considered to be the loneliest people. Murthy said that although young people could have friends online, it wasn’t the same as having friends that you could meet in person.

He believed that the quality of interactions online was less than those you had in real life. After all, you couldn’t see the other person’s expression and body language, nor could you hear their tone of voice. Oprah also agreed, saying, “That’s why a lot of things get lost. The context gets lost in the text.”

Near the end of that talk, Murthy said that there were three things that people needed in their lives. Those are relationships, purpose, and service. Oprah added by saying that she found it very useful to think of her job as an act of service to a greater purpose. She said that gave her a purpose in her life. “I think it all starts with how do I use my life in service of something bigger,” Oprah said.

After speaking with Murthy, Oprah believes that there are indeed too many people who have numerous contacts but no confidants. In an Instagram video, she suggested that one way to resolve this issue was to start reaching out to others, especially those who were worse than you. She said that people needed to begin to be kinder to others so they would end their isolation as they started building deep connections.