Millions of Americans will spend Christmas alone this Christmas amid a nationwide loneliness epidemic, a study has found.
A new poll found that about 19 million Americans will spend Christmas alone this year, which equates to one in fourteen adults.
Oregon has the highest percentage of people celebrating Christmas alone, at 45 percent, while Tennessee has the lowest at 12 percent, according to the poll.
According to the poll, Oregon has the highest number of people celebrating Christmas alone at 45 percent, while Tennessee has the lowest at 12 percent.
Oregon has the highest percentage of people celebrating alone, at 45 percent, while Tennessee has the lowest at 12 percent
“Alone” was defined as living in a single-person household and not planning to see anyone on December 25.
Oregon has a higher percentage of people age 65 and older, nearly one in five, compared to 17 percent in Tennessee, data from the Population Reference Bureau shows, which could explain why the state will be lonelier at Christmas.
Southern states, including Tennessee and Mississippi, may also have a stronger culture of family and community gatherings during the holidays, reflecting traditional Southern values.
The states that were the loneliest tended to be in the western US. Nevada, Colorado and Arkansas also had high levels of loneliness.
Meanwhile, the least lonely states are mainly located in the southeast of the country. After Tennessee, Nebraska, Mississippi, Maryland, Iowa, New Jersey and Washington followed.
It may also be that the cost of living in Tennessee is lower than in other states, which could support larger households and more family-oriented living arrangements.
According to Forbes Advisor, the cost of living in Tennessee in 2023 was $34,742, compared to $46,193 in Oregon.
Online-Solitaire.com – an online gaming company – commissioned an online survey to ask 4,000 adults living in single-person households whether they planned to spend Christmas alone.
The participant pool was a geographically representative panel covering every state in the US and were not necessarily users of the gaming platform.
Respondents from multi-person households and under-18s were excluded as they were thought to be much less likely to spend Christmas alone.
They also asked participants how they plan to deal with loneliness at Christmas.
More than one in four respondents said they would turn to online gaming to pass the time, and six percent said they would participate in online communities.
One in five admitted they would binge watch movies, while 15 percent said they would pursue a hobby.
Another 15 percent said they would cook all day, and just over one in ten said they would volunteer.
The remaining eight percent said they would spend time reading.
Earlier this year, the US surgeon general declared loneliness an epidemic, warning that it is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It's also worse than being obese or not exercising.
Lonely people have up to 30 percent more risk of heart disease, according to previous research. They are also at greater risk of dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and early death.
Dr. Vivek Murthy said social isolation should be treated with the same urgency as “tobacco use, obesity and the addiction crisis.”
Rates of loneliness have been increasing for years, but quickly worsened during pandemic lockdowns.
A study found that one in five people were lonely during the pandemic, compared to six percent before Covid.
According to the surgeon general's advice, Americans spent about 20 minutes a day with friends in person in 2020, compared to 60 minutes a day almost two decades earlier.
Research cited in the surgeon general's comments found that time spent with friends fell by 20 hours per month from 2003 to 2020.
Meanwhile, time spent alone shot up by as much as 24 hours, likely exacerbated by Covid lockdowns.
Socially connected people live longer because loneliness can cause chronic stress, leading to inflammation that damages tissues and blood vessels.
Isolation also increases the chance that a person will experience depression, anxiety and dementia.
About 42 percent of respondents said Christmas Day was the most challenging day to spend alone due to its cultural importance.
This was followed by personal birthdays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Of people surveyed who will be with family for Christmas, 88 percent said they would invite a neighbor known to be alone to celebrate with them.
Another survey from MedicareFAQ found that one in four seniors won't see their family during the holidays.
In November of this year, MedicareFAQ surveyed 640 seniors about their experiences with loneliness, especially during the holidays.
The respondents were mainly women, had an age range of 65-99 and were on average 70 years old.
One survey participant, a 72-year-old man from California, said, “I don't see my family and haven't heard from them in over a decade.”
Research shows that Americans, who have become less involved in worship services, community organizations and even their own family members in recent decades, are steadily reporting an increase in feelings of loneliness.
The number of single-person households has also doubled in the past sixty years.