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NOOS

Isolation

Loneliness is a public-health number, not a personality flaw

Sustained isolation predicts mortality on a scale comparable to several classic biomedical risks. Youth isolation is rising in countries that otherwise 'look fine'.

BriefingNewsroom briefing2026Worldwide

What we conclude

Cities and platforms that optimize for attention can accidentally optimize for isolation. Measuring loneliness like air quality changes what governments are willing to fund.

What we will not claim

We do not claim that 'everyone should join a group', or that introversion is a disease.