FILE - A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans, Aug. 11, 2019. In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an American epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking upon the population of the United States. Solitude and isolation do not automatically equal loneliness, but with additional recent stressors — the rise of social media and virtual life, post-9/11 polarization and the way COVID-19 interrupted existence — the challenge becomes even more stark. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
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