New friendship app looks to address loneliness epidemic by connecting people
Loneliness has been declared an epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General as a serious health issue. In fact, the World Health Organization appointed a new commission to address this global health threat.
Jane and Richard Leider of San Francisco are entering a new season of life. They've been married for 30 years with two grown daughters who are now out on their own.
"As you get older, your time comes back," said Jane Leider. "You can be a bit lonely. Maybe you don't want to use that word. It's not embarrassing, but you can be a little quiet, maybe a little bit more quiet than you would like to be."
"After an empty nester, you look and there's a void in your life and you look for areas that you can fill that," said Richard Leider.
The couple joined the activity-based friendship app Wyzr Friends to meet new people and expand their social circle.
It's a new app that just officially launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month. Several thousands of users have already downloaded the social app for connection and community.
"I don't think I'm old," said Jane Leider. "In my head, I think I'm 40. But it's a little bit tricky. I am a doer, and I love to go out and do things. Recently, I had tickets to the ballet, and my husband was out of town. I couldn't get anyone to go with me, and I got on the Wyzr Friends app and asked, 'Who wants to go to the ballet?' I ended up sitting next to this nice gentleman. It was not a date. It was just someone with the passion for the ballet who wanted the ticket."
That's exactly what the founders of Wyzr Friends were hoping for. Two friends, Carolyn Kelly and Taylor Jay, share a passion for creating community and connecting like-minded adults 40 years old and up, a group often overlooked in social apps.
"Our fathers were our inspiration," said Kelly Jay. "We were thinking our fathers are lonely. They're in their 80s, and we were worried about them. They had a mutual love of Costco that just wasn't enough to bring them together from San Diego and LA. You soon realize it's not about our fathers. It's about older adults like us."
According to the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on loneliness and isolation, a quarter of Americans 65 years old and up are socially isolated, and those over age 50 are at greater risk of becoming lonely.
"It's pretty clear from a number of epidemiological studies that social isolation is as bad for your health as smoking," said David Spiegel, M.D., Willson Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. "Not being close to someone is emotionally painful. Many people describe loneliness as they do physical pain."
For Jane and Richard Leider, they're choosing to break out of their comfort zone, make new friends and embrace this time in their lives.
"You know, the great adventure begins," said Jane Leider. "We're older, but we've got a lot of spin on the ball."
They're dedicated to building strong social connections and community, making their golden years truly shine.
The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on loneliness and isolation included data from 148 studies, suggesting social connection increases the odds of survival by 50%.
