How are you?

About this video

Think of the last time someone asked "How are you?" and really waited for your answer. These moments feel good, but can the people around us actually change our health? Social connection is the way we relate to and spend time with other people: family, friends, neighbours, classmates. Loneliness is the painful feeling that comes when the connections you have are fewer, or less close, than the ones you want. Being alone is not the same: you can be alone and feel fine, and you can feel lonely in a crowd.

In 2010 researchers put together 148 studies of about 300,000 people who had been followed for years. People with stronger ties to others were about 50% more likely to still be alive at the end of the studies than people with weaker ties. All of these studies watched people; none could test it, because nobody can make people lonely for an experiment. So this is a strong link, not proof that friendships alone make people live longer: people with many friends may differ in other ways too, such as their health or their money.

In 2025 a commission of the World Health Organization reported that about 1 in 6 people in the world are affected by loneliness, and that it is linked to an estimated 871,000 deaths a year, about 100 every hour. Loneliness is not only a problem of old age: it is most common among teenagers and young adults, with 17 to 21% of people aged 13 to 29 saying they felt lonely. It is also about twice as common in low-income countries (about 24%) as in high-income ones (about 11%).

Feeling lonely is common and is not a failing, and it can change. The WHO commission says everyday steps make a difference: reach out to someone you haven't talked to for a while, be really there by putting your phone away and greeting your neighbours, and join a club, a team or a local group, or volunteer to help others. This video explains social connection on Knaph, from the Health Level 1 lesson People Who Keep Us Well.

Transcript

1. 0:00Someone asks how you are, and really waits for the answer. Can moments like this change your health?
2. 0:09Loneliness is having fewer close ties than you want. It isn't the same as being alone. You can feel lonely in a crowd.
3. 0:21One hundred and forty eight studies followed people for years. Those with stronger ties were about fifty percent more likely to still be alive. But these studies watched people. It's a link, not proof.
4. 0:35About one in six people in the world are affected by loneliness. It's most common in teenagers and young adults, and twice as common in poorer countries.
5. 0:50Reach out to someone. Put your phone away and be really there. Join a club, or help others.
6. 1:03Ties are built from small, everyday moments.