Why loneliness, like the kind hinted at by Salman Khan, worries everyone these days

A cryptic Instagram post from Salman Khan about being alone and lonely set off alarm bells this week. The actor shared a shirtless photo alongside a caption where he wrote: "By I me myself, 2 ways to be by yr self, Alone and Lonely, Alone is by choice n lonely when nobody wants to be with u." The post went viral instantly, with fans parsing every word, wondering if the 60-year-old was hinting at something deeper. He later clarified that the post was misunderstood and was not connected to his own emotional state.But the frenzy around that post points to something real. Loneliness isn't just a sad feeling anymore. The World Health Organization found that loneliness and social isolation contribute to 871,000 deaths worldwide every year, a death toll researchers said places social health in a tier "as damaging as other public health risks" such as air pollution, tobacco and alcohol. That's about 100 deaths every hour globally. Just sitting with that number for a second: in the time you read this sentence, someone died from consequences tied to being alone.When health organizations start sounding the alarm, you know something's shifted. A landmark report from the WHO Commission on Social Connection highlights that social isolation and loneliness are widespread, with serious but under-recognized impacts on health, well-being, and society. The research team didn't say this lightly. They spent three years pulling together evidence from across the globe, and what they found was stark.Between 2014 and 2023, an estimated one in six people globally experienced loneliness, with the highest rates observed among adolescents and young adults; 20.9% of 13–17-year-olds and 17.4% of 18–29-year-olds. Young people should be at the most connected point of their lives—they've got social media, group chats, always-on communication. But they're also the loneliest. That paradox matters.And it's not just teenagers feeling it. Older adults are not exempt: about one in three are socially isolated, meaning they lack sufficient social contact and roles. Isolation doesn't discriminate by age. It finds cracks in how we've structured our lives and moves in.The scary part is the health damage. Social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of dementia, stroke, cardiovascular disease and premature death. These aren't psychological symptoms. These are cardiovascular events. Strokes. Your heart literally breaks differently when you're alone. Loneliness contributes to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, cognitive decline, and early mortality.Loneliness is being treated as a physical health risk factor now, not just a mental health issue. One in six people globally are affected by social disconnection and loneliness, resulting in around 100 deaths per hour. That's not metaphorical. That's real bodies, real deaths, real consequences.This is why the WHO took an unusual step. The World Health Assembly, which in May 2025 adopted its first-ever resolution specifically targeting social connection as a public health crisis. Countries around the world are now treating this the way they treat diabetes or heart disease. Because the data shows it kills just as effectively.What makes this crisis particularly weird is that we're lonelier in the most connected era in human history. Americans spent 12 more hours alone each month in 2019 compared to 2003, and nearly half of Americans reported having three or fewer close friends in 2021, up from 27% in 1990. We have hundreds of online connections and no one to call when something breaks down in our lives.The shift to remote work, the decline of neighborhoods and community institutions, the way social media makes us feel inadequate even when we're scrolling through friends' highlights—all of it's added up. We've never been more available to each other and somehow more unreachable at the same time.So when Salman Khan posts something reflective about loneliness, millions of people stop scrolling and wonder if he's okay. Because loneliness feels close now. It doesn't feel like someone else's problem.