{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/-murphy-op-ed-americas-epidemic-of-loneliness-is-a-crisis-policymakers-need-to-take-seriously", "Murphy Op-Ed: America's Epidemic of Loneliness is a Crisis Policymakers Need to Take Seriously", "2022-12-13", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", "chrismurphy", "https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2013U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) authored an op-ed for The Bulwark on the epidemic of loneliness, why it should matter to policymakers, and policy solutions Congress should pursue. Despite being more connected than ever through social media and virtual communication, Americans are experiencing higher levels of aloneness (fewer social contacts) and higher levels of loneliness (feelings of isolation), and Murphy argues that the modern neoliberal American order has exacerbated these trends.\n\nMurphy highlighted the two most significant factors contributing to America\u2019s epidemic of loneliness. On technology and social media, Murphy wrote: \u201cFirst, for all the promise of technology to more seamlessly connect us to peers and new friends, it has in fact left many Americans\u2014especially young people\u2014feeling more alone than ever. Put simply, we have learned that digital communication cannot replace the value of in-person experience\u2026 Further, the use of social media, which once seemed to promise an antidote to loneliness, can create resentments that further breed feelings of isolation.\u201d\n\nOn the second factor driving loneliness, the erosion of local communities: \u201cPersonal meaning often comes from the groupings we create or join, and connection through institutions helps us construct an identity and sense of purpose. It\u2019s both the connection and the meaning derived from group identity that matters. But many large trends have badly weakened local institutions. Among them is globalization, which has drained local economies and diminished the local cultures that facilitate connection, identity, and meaning.\u201d\n\nMurphy laid out potential policy solutions decrease American isolation, starting with legislation to rein in Big Tech: \u201cFirst, why not acknowledge that the consequences of technology\u2019s unstinting advance are not value-neutral, and steer technology companies toward products that breed happiness, not anxiety and loneliness? I know this sounds like a herculean task, but there are already efforts underway to better protect children from the dangers of online addiction by increasing the minimum age of children that technology companies can target with their products. Other legislation seeks to increase social media and tech companies\u2019 legal liability for the damage their products are doing to our kids.\u201d\n\nTo revitalize local communities, Murphy proposed: \u201cA new strategy of economic nationalism\u2014working to bring key industries with good paying, full-time jobs back to the United States\u2014is a good place to begin. In western Connecticut, citizens proudly called themselves citizens of the Brass City, the Silver City, the Hardware City, and the Hat City. Identity and meaning were created by an association with the industrial character of places because those jobs paid wages that could sustain an entire family\u2014generation after generation.\u201d\n\nMurphy continued: \u201cEnsuring that one full-time job provides an adequate living wage would, in and of itself, help these institutions by freeing up more time for Americans to participate in non-work activities\u2026But we need to do more than just create additional free time. Federal, state, and local government should consider more direct subsidies for community institutions, civic groups, and local newspapers, in addition to reining in the neo-monopolies that put so many local grocery stores, booksellers, and the like out of business.\u201d\n\n\u201c[T]oday, social isolation threatens devastating consequences for the social fabric of our nation. It will be some time before we understand all causes of, and treatments for, this growing catastrophe. But talking frankly about the crisis, its consequences, and potential solutions, is a vital first step,\u201d Murphy concluded.\n\nRead the full op-ed here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/-murphy-op-ed-americas-epidemic-of-loneliness-is-a-crisis-policymakers-need-to-take-seriously"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4165348839014769, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}