For 23-year-old alum Janelle Ingraham-Dwyer, college didn’t bring the connection they expected. 

By their sophomore year, without roommates, their days often slipped into isolation. They would sit by their window watching groups of students laughing together, feeling as though they were observing a life they weren’t a part of. 

Some nights, the loneliness brought Ingraham-Dwyer to tears, eventually pushing them to seek therapy in search of relief. 

Ingraham-Dwyer’s experience reflects a broader loneliness epidemic, as more young people find themselves feeling alone in their every day lives. 

University of Missouri-Kansas City associate professor of clinical psychology Daniel Maitland considers loneliness a significant public health issue for young adults, specifically those aged 18 to 25. 

“After accounting for health behaviors such as exercise, smoking, drinking substances, loneliness increases mortality at the same rate of smoking 15 cigarettes a day,” Maitland said. 

When discussing social isolation, Maitland pointed to the rising cost of living as a major factor, noting how difficult it has become for young people to afford basic stability in today’s world. 

“When you look at the income that young people have compared to the spaces available to them, there is not really a gathering space that exists outside of libraries and public parks,” Maitland said. “I think that contributes to isolation a lot.” 

He added that young adults are moving more frequently, which can contribute to loneliness by reducing consistent, structured opportunities for social interaction. 

Far From Home 

Distance is something senior communication studies student EmaLee Dedrick knows well. 

Attending school out of state, she had to face the added pressure of distance from familiar support systems and routines. 

“It was hard going to a school out of state when a lot of people lived locally,” Dedrick said. “Like a lot of my friends were within an hour and a half, so they would go home on the weekends, but I wasn’t able to do that, and I didn’t have a car my freshman year.” 

Dedrick said she felt stuck. 

That feeling is tied to a lack of belonging in the community. 

“I couldn’t vote in the local elections, like when people would go vote, I would be like, ‘Okay, well, I can’t vote because I’m not an Ohio resident,’” Dedrick said. “I feel like there were law decisions and stuff that were made that I had no say in.” 

Maitland said that a sense of disconnection is common when someone moves, as they often lose their entire social network. 

“When you’re not in the same space as someone, you just don’t interact,” Maitland said. “Like so many of my friendships started because I was in the same class as them, I saw them every day, because I talked to them.” 

Maitland went on to say that while he will still maintain those relationships, it takes more effort and moving out of state often means starting over. 

For Dedrick, that reality meant having to build her own community from scratch. 

“I didn’t know anyone who lived in the state of Ohio,” Dedrick said. “Like I flipped a coin on decision day, and that’s how I picked Kent.” 

Relationship as Relief 

As isolation lingers, finding a sense of connection can begin to feel less like something natural and more like something urgent and needed. 

For 24-year-old speech language pathology graduate Brittney Davis, the focus was on pursuing friendships rather than a romantic relationship. 

During her freshman year of college, Davis’ roommate moved out, leaving her alone during COVID-19 with no in-person classes and five hours away from home. With little chance to meet people on campus, she struggled to build friendships and felt increasingly isolated. 

Sara Coberly, associate executive director at NAMI Summit County, said one in five individuals typically experience a mental health condition or symptoms at some point in their lives, but that number rose significantly during COVID, affecting closer to two or three in five people. 

“A lot of things changed throughout COVID that has had lingering effects,” Coberly said. “The social development for many young individuals was completely disrupted and for many, they are still navigating social standards and still catching up on how to interact in a post-COVID world.” 

For Davis, those disruptions made the isolation feel even more pronounced, especially on her 19th birthday. 

“It was the first birthday I had ever experienced without my parents and by that time, I still hadn’t made any friends on campus. It was still COVID, and it was my 19th birthday, and I spent it by myself in my dorm room,” Davis said. “And I felt like that was very sobering of loneliness.” 

However, a year later, she met her now partner, Ingraham-Dwyer, shifting the way she experienced connection. 

“I think the loneliness helped me shape who I was and then prepared me to be in a relationship with someone,” Davis said.  

Having someone who understands Davis helped ease moments of isolation, offering a sense of stability and connection she hadn’t felt before. 

For Ingraham-Dwyer, their relationship began with Davis towards the end of their loneliness. 

“I started therapy with my current therapist, who I have been with for three years now, in June, and I met my girlfriend in August,” they said. “Going to therapy was kind of the tail end of the turning point of me getting out of the loneliness.” 

For a long time, Ingraham-Dwyer had a fear of being judged, but with Davis, they feel as though they can break out of their shell. 

“Being in a relationship kind of helped my confidence in a way,” they said. “I feel like I can be myself.” 

Taking Time 

Not every path continues in the classroom; for some, taking a gap year helps to reset and reflect. 

For 22-year-old communications major Ashley DePasquale, that meant taking a gap year before her junior year of college. 

“I needed a break,” DePasquale said. “The toll school took on my mental health was insane.” 

At the start of her gap year, DePasquale said she initially felt isolated, as her routine began to feel repetitive and unchanged. 

“I would go to work and then come home on repeat,” she said. “I would look on social media at everyone’s posts out and about at college parties and bars and think, ‘Damn, I’m pretty lonely right now.’” 

Maitland said research on social media’s impact on loneliness is mixed, showing it can either alleviate or contribute to feelings of isolation depending on how it is used. 

“The person who is posting personal things is probably having a different experience than if you’re a person who’s taking 100 photos to post the one photo where you look perfect,” Maitland said. “So, I think that all of these uses of social media can either form to advance connection or distance us from connection.” 

For DePasquale, that distance has not been easy to ignore. She stays connected with friends from high school, which helps her to feel less distant.

While it’s difficult, DePasquale said that stepping away from school has allowed her to put energy into those friendships, as the reduced academic pressure lifted off her shoulders, but she does plan to return to school in the fall. 

“I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m a little weary,” DePasquale said. “It’s been a year, before that I’ve always been in school. School was all I knew, so taking a year off, it’s like, ‘Hopefully, I remember what I’m doing.’” 

For many young people, these mixed emotions have become a defining part of navigating life in a time increasingly shaped by disconnection. 

Looking Ahead 

Maitland predicts that over the next 10 to 20 years, loneliness among those currently in their teens will remain similar to today. 

However, current college-aged individuals may begin to experience more significant health issues as a result. 

“That to me is really scary when we look at our social support system or social security system,” Maitland said. “We’re going to have a bunch of people that are underemployed, don’t have health insurance, who are having these chronic health issues emerge in their thirties.” 

Maitland adds that without meaningful change, he believes the situation surrounding loneliness will continue to worsen. 

Coberly said many practical steps can be taken right now to better support young adults who may struggle with loneliness. 

“Listen to our youth! Invite them to the table when we are having these types of conversations,” Coberly said. “Often, I am in spaces where we are trying to navigate how to reach the youth and get them connected to services, but there are no youth in the room to tell us what they really feel, what they are experiencing, and what is or is not working.” 

She emphasized creating spaces where both youth and young adults can connect naturally, rather than through forced interaction, can play an important role in reducing feelings of loneliness. 

“Once we choose to walk beside our youth and listen to their needs,” Coberly said. “I think we can see huge changes in the loneliness epidemic.”

Drew Berkshire is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].