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In today’s digital age, where so many connections are at our fingertips, recently outgoing United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has sounded the alarm on a growing health crisis: loneliness. In Murthy’s “” report, he outlines some of the health risks associated with loneliness, including an increased risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

A showed that 58 percent of U.S. adults are considered lonely. For adults ages 18 to 24, that figure jumps to a staggering 79 percent.

What can we do as individuals to combat the loneliness epidemic? ������̳ Professor of Psychology Nicole Legate expands on Murthy’s guidance, explaining that the quality of the connections in our life—rather than the quantity—helps us to feel more fulfilled and less likely to be lonely.

“We need social connections. When we have them, we thrive,” says Legate. “When we don’t have them, we suffer psychologically and even physically. Having meaningful connections with others matters a lot more than the number of connections.

“But these can be made online as well as offline. For some, like a young person who may face rejection or bullying in their school or community for being LGBTQ+, for example, they might have an easier time finding meaningful connections online.”

Murthy’s guidance isn’t just about managing screen time, but more about fostering environments where everyone can form genuine, supportive connections.

Legate—who researches parenting and is working on a project examining how parents guide their teens around screen time—has advice for the parents of teenagers that includes cooperating with them to make decisions and to implement rules about their online use.

“Parents can support their kids as they navigate social media by listening to them, understanding their perspective, and collaborating with them when making decisions about their online use,” says Legate. “Ultimately, kids are going to find a way around any online controls a parent might put in place. Helping kids understand for themselves what they want to get out of social media and what they want to avoid has a better chance of being effective, especially in the long run.”