Survey: Almost a Quarter of People Feel Lonely

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Materials

November 11, 2023

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.

lonely

Adjective

ˈloʊnliː

unhappy because one has no friends or is on one's own

I've been feeling lonely ever since my kids left for college, so I got myself a dog.

physical

Adjective

ˈfɪzɪkəl

relating to the body

Research has shown that hiking benefits both our physical and mental health.

mortality

Noun

mɔːrˈtælɪtiː

death, especially in large numbers; the number of deaths from a particular cause or in a particular area or time period

Influenza remains a major cause of mortality among nursing home residents.

In the 19th century, the mortality rate for tuberculosis was extremely high.

obesity

Noun

oʊˈbiːsɪtiː

the state of being very overweight

Obesity rates have increased so rapidly in recent years that it has been described as an epidemic.

epidemic

Noun

ˌɛpɪˈdɛmɪk

a situation in which a disease or something undesirable occurs in large numbers in a particular time and place

The Ebola epidemic of 2013–2016 killed over 10,000 people.

independently

Adverb

ˌɪndɪˈpendəntli

by oneself or without needing help from others

We're looking for highly skilled professionals who are good at working independently.

Exercise 2

Article

Read the article aloud on your own or repeat each paragraph after your tutor.

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Survey: Almost a Quarter of People Feel Lonely

Almost a quarter of people around the world feel very or fairly lonely, according to a new survey.

And the survey found that another 27% feel a little lonely.

Meta and Gallup asked people from more than 140 countries about their feelings of loneliness. About 1,000 people were surveyed in each country between June 2022 and February 2023.

The World Health Organization has said that spending time with others is important for our mental and physical health.

It said that loneliness can have the same type of effect on mortality as things like smoking and obesity. In the US, loneliness has been described as an epidemic.

And although we may often think of it as something felt by older people, the Meta-Gallup survey found that the highest rates of loneliness were among young adults.

Among those aged between 19 and 29, 27% said they feel very or fairly lonely.

That's compared to 17% of people aged 65 and over — and 57% of those in this age group said they don't feel lonely at all.

Across the world, the numbers were the same for men and women, with 24% saying they feel very or fairly lonely.

According to experts, young adults may be more likely to feel lonely as they begin living independently but perhaps do not yet have a family of their own or have not yet found the right job.

Big life events, such as separating from a long-term partner, finishing university or losing a job could also impact loneliness, according to the results of a 2022 EU survey.