Baby Boomers Are Isolating Themselves as They Age

A sobering finding has emerged from the Stanford Center on Longevity’s Sightlines Project. Social isolation is as strong a risk factor for early mortality as cigarette smoking. Which makes the findings about social engagement among boomers startling. The 55-to-64-year-olds just about to join the ranks of the elderly are far less socially engaged now than their predecessors were at the same age 20 years ago. And this pattern emerged across virtually all traditional measures of social engagement.

Read the full article by Center on Longevity founding director Laura L. Carstensen at Time.