孤獨的老年人，大部分時間不與任何人交談

一項調查顯示，22.5萬名老年人大部分時間不與任何人交談

Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions.

孤獨已成為流行病。

A new survey has found that, most weeks, more than 225,000 UK seniors aged 65 or over speak to no one at all, while 2.6 million speak to — at most — three non-strangers.

一項新的調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)時候，超過22.5萬名65歲或以上的英國老年人，根本不和任何人說話，而260萬名老年人最多與三名陌生人講話。

Overall, nearly 4.5 million older people have experienced loneliness, the survey estimates. For over 600,000 of these solitary souls, the lack of socialization is so crushing it prevents them from going out into the world, researchers reported.

調查估計，總的來說，近450萬老年人經(jīng)歷過孤獨。研究人員報告說，對于60多萬孤獨的靈魂來說，缺乏社交生活讓他們無法走向社會。

The survey of 1,896 people, conducted by Age UK, a charity advocating for the elderly, found that interacting with neighbors or smiling at strangers at the bus stop would make a world of difference, respondents reported.

這項由倡導老年人權益的慈善機構Age UK開展的調查共有1896人參加。調查結果顯示，在公共汽車站與鄰居互動或對陌生人微笑會讓情況大為改觀。

The solo reality of the sunset years has created concern in younger contingents of the population, with 55 percent of 16- to 45-year-olds surveyed saying they’re worried about getting lonely in older age.

日落之年的孤獨現(xiàn)實引起了年輕人的擔憂，在接受調查的16歲至45歲人群中，有55%的人表示，他們擔心年老時會感到孤獨。

Loneliness is not only isolating, it also poses a health risk — one greater than obesity, studies say. Seniors aren’t the only ones feeling alone, either: one in five millennials report feeling lonely and have “no friends,” according to another 2019 survey. Teenagers, too, are lonelier than ever, and the digital work landscape appears to be intensifying the problem.

研究表明，孤獨不僅會讓人感到孤立，還會帶來比肥胖更大的健康風險。老年人也不是唯一感到孤獨的人:根據(jù)2019年的另一項調查，五分之一的千禧一代表示感到孤獨，而且“沒有朋友”。青少年也比以往任何時候都更加孤獨，數(shù)字工作環(huán)境似乎加劇了這一問題。

To combat the situation, a US scientist is currently working on developing a pill to treat loneliness, and the UK has appointed a minister for loneliness to help ease the epidemic.

為了應對這種情況，美國一位科學家目前正在研發(fā)一種治療孤獨的藥物，英國已經(jīng)任命了一位孤獨部長來幫助緩解這種流行病。