How Doing Things Alone Can Curb Loneliness

There are such widespread feelings of isolation and lack of social connection among people that in 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared an “epidemic of loneliness.” The problem stems from shifts in the way we live, including reliance on technology and social media, the lasting effects of the pandemic, and changes in the way we work. And the consequences are devastating.

Then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said being socially disconnected is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and even worse than obesity and physical inactivity. “And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished,” he wrote.

It’s a problem that Gallup and Meta also identified in “The Global State of Social Connections” study published that same year, finding 65% of respondents worldwide said they didn’t feel “very connected” to others, with young people and certain minority groups affected the most.

The Smith School’s Rebecca Ratner, Dean's Professor of Marketing, says that individuals can be proactive about building social connections, and marketers can help them. Her research pinpoints one surprising way people can combat feeling lonely: by doing activities alone. Ratner finds that people are often reluctant to do leisure activities — like dining at a restaurant, seeing a movie in a theater, visiting a museum, or even bowling — without a companion. But her research shows that people are pleasantly surprised how much they enjoy doing activities alone, and getting out creates opportunities to interact with others.

“You are much more likely to meet new people than if you’re sitting at home,” she says. She has also studied how to build better connections with people when you do share experiences with them.

Ratner, who earned her PhD in social psychology, has always been interested in relationships between people. Her very first research publication studied how difficult it is for people to initiate friendships, even when they’ve had a connection with someone, because they have a fear of rejection.

She’s interested in the role marketing can play to help people feel more connected and curb the loneliness epidemic. As the president of the Association for Consumer Research, she spoke about the topic at the 2025 annual conference in Washington, D.C., in October. 
In her speech, she talked about social capital, which isn’t usually covered in marketing research. “It’s the idea that when people feel connected to other people, that creates trust within communities and societies. It leads to civic participation and trust in institutions, engagement in democracy — all of these things that we know are globally at risk right now,” she says. “The topic really resonated,” she says.

“It’s also about having a network of people that can help you when you need something.”

Ratner says marketers should care about these connections for the sake of consumers’ well-being and all the benefits to individuals and communities that social connections bring— even beyond the marketing outcomes of selling more products and services.

From her research, Ratner has these tips to build social connections:

For individuals:

1. Just do it. Don’t wait until you have a companion — get out and do the things you want to do, she says. Her research finds that people who do leisure activities alone enjoy them far more than they thought they would. And once you’re out there alone, there’s a chance someone will strike up a conversation with you. “It could be the start of a new connection.”
2. Don’t be afraid to make the first move. If you feel a connection with someone you just met, don’t wait for them to initiate a followup. Invite them to coffee or lunch — they might want to do the same but feel afraid to put themselves out there.
3. Communicate for better connections. Once you do get out there with a companion, you’ll both have a better time—and probably cultivate a deeper connection—if you’re clear about your preferences and expectations for the shared outing, according to Ratner’s research.
4. Prioritize people. Everyone is busy, says Ratner, but you should be proactive about getting together with the family and friends you want to see.

For marketers:

1. Look for opportunities to help people connect. Are there ways to help your customers connect? Foster community by encouraging shared experiences or conversations to build connections—and help your business.
2. Cultivate deeper connections. Research shows that deeper conversation topics are more connecting than superficial ones. In her keynote address, Ratner pointed to a meditation class that had participants delve into deep topics, which helped people connect better.
3. Pleasant experiences can go a long way. A friendly interaction with a grocery store clerk or extra courtesy from airline employees for passengers trying to make a connecting flight can leave customers with warm feelings about the company’s brand in general.

“It’s not just about building connections between people, it’s about creating that community feeling where the focus is on people,” says Ratner. And that goes a long way toward strengthening social connections that can help people feel less isolated and lonely.