May 21st, 2026
In 2023, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation was published as a U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. The findings and guidance in the advisory draw upon scientific literature and previously published recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, and the World Health Organization; and are informed by consultations with subject matter experts from academia, health care, education, government, and more. Due to its profound insight on social connection, we're sharing highlights—across a three-part series—to inform our community and support their wellbeing.
In the first and second part of this series we highlighted how we define social connection, the current state of social connection in our communities, and the various impacts it has on our collective health and wellbeing. This brings us to answering this critical question with which to conclude our series: what actionable steps can we take to enhance social connection so that we can all enjoy its benefits in our future?
Cultivating Connection
There are various ways that we can cultivate a future culture of connection. We list some practical tips below. Ultimately, it's the informal practices of everyday life—the norms and culture of how we engage one another—that significantly influence social connection.
This rests on sharing core values—of love, kindness, respect, service, and commitment to one another—and reflecting them in the world we build for ourselves and our children. That world is in our reach.
✓ Such a world is a world where we respect and value one another, where we look out for one another, and where we create opportunities to uplift one another.
✓ It is a world where our highs are higher because we celebrate them together, where our lows are more manageable because we respond to them together, and where our recovery is faster because we grieve and rebuild together.
✓ It is a world where we are strong enough to hold our differences, where we are more comfortable and motivated to engage civically, and where our leaders and institutions are more representative of the people they serve.
✓ It is a world where we trust one another and the systems that exist to take care of us, where we feel safe to challenge one another and change our minds, and where prosperity and progress are accessible to all.
"Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful."
~Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., Former Surgeon General of the United States
Practical Tips
We all play an important role in shaping the experience of social connection. These practices are recommendations for how we can take action to advance social connection in our lives and the lives of those around us. For parents and caregivers, the tips focus on parenting young children but many can apply more broadly to all types of caregiving of youth.
- Understand the power of social connection and the consequences of social disconnection by learning how the vital components (structure, function, and quality) can impact your relationships, health, and well-being. (We covered this in this series, parts 1-2!).
- Invest time in nurturing your relationships through consistent, frequent, and high-quality engagement with others. Take time each day to reach out to a friend or family member.
- Minimize distraction during conversation to increase the quality of the time you spend with others. For instance, don’t check your phone during meals with friends, important conversations, and family time.
- Seek out opportunities to serve and support others, either by helping your family, co-workers, friends, or strangers in your community or by participating in community service.
- Be responsive, supportive, and practice gratitude. It makes others more likely to reciprocate, strengthening our social bonds and improving relationship satisfaction.
- Actively engage with people of different backgrounds and experiences to expand your understanding of and relationships with others, as there are benefits associated with diverse connections.
- Participate in social and community groups such as fitness, religious, hobby, professional, and community service organizations to foster a sense of belonging, meaning, and purpose.
- Reduce practices that lead to feelings of disconnection from others. These include harmful and excessive social media use, time spent in unhealthy relationships, and disproportionate time in front of screens instead of people.
- Seek help during times of struggle with loneliness or isolation by reaching out to a family member, friend, counselor, health care provider, or the 988 crisis line.
- Be open with your health care provider about significant social changes in your life, as this may help them understand potential health impacts and guide them to provide recommendations to mitigate health risks.
- Make time for civic engagement. This could include being a positive and constructive participant in political discourse and gatherings (e.g., town halls, school board meetings, local government hearings).
- Reflect the core values of connection in how you approach others in conversation and through the actions you take. Key questions to ask yourself when considering your interactions with others include: How might kindness change this situation? What would it look like to treat others with respect? How can I be of service? How can I reflect my concern for and commitment to others?
- Invest in your relationship with your child or loved one by recognizing that strong, secure attachments are protective and a good foundation for other healthy relationships.
- Model healthy social connection, including constructive conflict resolution, spending time together, staying in regular contact with extended family, friends, and neighbors, setting time aside for socializing away from technology or social media, and joining community events.
- Help children and adolescents develop strong, safe, and stable relationships with supportive adults like grandparents, teachers, coaches, counselors, and mentors.
- Encourage healthy social connection with peers by supporting individual friendships, as well as participation in structured activities such as volunteering, sports, community activities, and mentorship programs.
- Be attentive to how young people spend their time online. Delay the age at which children join social media platforms and monitor and decrease screen time in favor of positive, in-person, connection building activities.
- Identify and aim to reduce behaviors and experiences that may increase the risk for social disconnection, including bullying and excessive or harmful social media use.
- Talk to your children about social connection regularly to understand if they are struggling with loneliness or isolation, to destigmatize talking about these feelings, and to create space for children to share their perspective and needs.
- Look out for potential warning signs of loneliness and social isolation, such as increases in time spent alone, disproportionate online time, limited interactions with friends, or excessive attention-seeking behavior.
- Connect youth to helpers like counselors, educators, and health care providers if they are struggling with loneliness, isolation, or unhealthy relationships.
In closing, we hope this series has deepened your awareness of how vital social connection is to our future collective wellbeing. We're grateful for the profound insight shared by the U.S. Attorney General's Advisory: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation that inspired this news blog series. Fostering greater connection demands our effort and focus. But after awareness comes action—and we are confident we can do this together. When we each take steps to advance social connection, we are choosing for our future better lives and a better world for all.
Source: Office of U.S. Surgeon General – Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, 2023.
