WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday joined CNN’s State of the Union to discuss how government can help tackle the loneliness epidemic and why it’s important for Americans to have a national conversation about rebuilding community and connection.

“Last year, we had more suicides in the United States than in any year in our lifetime. Rising rates of violence. More people taking withdrawal drugs and overdosing. It feels like people are having a harder time finding purpose and meaning than ever before. And part of the reason for that – a lot of people are lonely and feeling alone. 20 years ago, only 3% of Americans reported having no friends. Today, 12% of Americans say they have not a single friend. We report spending half as much time as we used to on a daily basis with family and friends. We’re withdrawing into ourselves, and with that comes a real sickness, emotionally, spiritually, physically. And it's something that I think political leaders need to start talking about because it impacts everybody in this country on the right and the left. And it's actually a wonderful unifying conversation because everyone in this country is feeling alone,” said Murphy.

On bipartisan support for regulating social media, Murphy said: “The social media companies absolutely are determined to protect their addictive technology. Their entire business model is centered around trying to get us to look at our phones six to eight hours a day. They make less money if we're talking to each other rather than looking at our phones. But the good news is this conversation about social media regulation is one that actually brings Republicans and Democrats, the right and the left together. You talk to parents out there – it really has nothing to do with their ideology as to whether or not they want more help in trying to keep their kids off of TikTok, off of Instagram, especially when they see those sites really taking their children into a dark rabbit hole.”

Murphy discussed how the political discourse is disconnected from what Americans are really feeling:  “I think when you don't have leaders that are sticking up for you and plugging into the things that matter most to you, that makes you feel alone, right? You want a champion. You want somebody that understands what you're going through and is fighting for you. That's why I think we have to talk about the emotional state of America because that's a way for political leaders to directly plug into the actual things that people are feeling. And so when we just sort of talk about the price of health care or the unemployment rate – that isn't directly connected to the spiritual, emotional state of the country in a way a conversation about loneliness or purpose or meaning would be. I know that those are topics that feel very unfamiliar and distant to political leadership, but it actually, I think, would scratch the American public where they itch and make them feel less alone if they thought political leaders were actually talking about the way that they feel.”

Murphy added: “You can’t just have a conversation simply about how people are feeling. You’ve got to say ‘how are you feeling,’ and then what can government do to make it better. If you talk about loneliness, part of the policy is social media regulation, but it's also free time and leisure time, right? Giving people the space where they can go join a church or a social club. It's about connection. I want a four-day work week. I want more functional third places. I want more community pools. And I want more vibrant churches. I want places where people can meet. You have to start the conversation around purpose and meaning and connection, but then I think you need to move pretty quickly to policy, but make sure that that's one conversation.”

Earlier this month, Murphy authored an op-ed for the New Republic to make the case for a political realignment oriented around a set of solutions that would address America’s spiritual unspooling and enable Americans to have more economic control over their lives, more social connection, and more moral markets. 

Murphy and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the Addressing Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults (SILO) Act, legislation to establish a grant and training program for community-based organizations working to address social isolation among older adults and adults with disabilities – two populations at greater risk for loneliness. Earlier this year, Murphy introduced the National Strategy for Social Connection Act, which would create an Office of Social Connection Policy within the White House to work across federal agencies to develop effective strategies for improved social infrastructure and issue national guidelines for social connection similar to existing guidelines on sleep, nutrition, and physical activity. It would also provide funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to better understand the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness.

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