Recent national surveys show that a significant proportion of college students report having felt overwhelmed, anxious, and lonely during college. If college is supposed to be the “best years of your life” then why are so many students lonely? That’s what Dr. Gene Beresin and Dr. Khadijah Booth Watkins dive into today: what’s contributing to feelings of loneliness, when should we worry about it, and what can we do to help? They share tips for parents and caregivers, and college students themselves.

Media List

Follow along with the conversation.

• New Surgeon General Raises Alarm About the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Our Epidemic of Loneliness: Implementing the Surgeon General’s recommendations for parents and caregivers (Psychology Today)
• ’22-’23 Student Lifestyle Survey (Sodexo)
• Publications and Reports: ACHA-NCHA III (Spring 2023) (American College Health Association)
• Why Is College So Lonely? (The Sophian)
• The Challenges of First-Generation College Students (MGH Clay Center)
• Social Media is Killing Your Friendships (Healthline)
• Your College Student – Conversation Starters (YouTube)
• Peer Programs in College Student Mental Health (The Mary Christie Institute & The Ruderman Foundation)
• Roy Orbison – Only the Lonely (YouTube)

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Music credit: ‘Only the Lonely’ by Roy Orbison; Publication date, 1961; Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

Original music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

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