一项调查显示，22.5万名老年人大部分时间不与任何人交谈

Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions.

孤独已成为流行病。

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.

一项新的调查发现，大多数时候，超过22.5万名65岁或以上的英国老年人，根本不和任何人说话，而260万名老年人最多与三名陌生人讲话。

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.

调查估计，总的来说，近450万老年人经历过孤独。研究人员报告说，对于60多万孤独的灵魂来说，缺乏社交生活让他们无法走向社会。

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.

这项由倡导老年人权益的慈善机构Age UK开展的调查共有1896人参加。调查结果显示，在公共汽车站与邻居互动或对陌生人微笑会让情况大为改观。

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.

日落之年的孤独现实引起了年轻人的担忧，在接受调查的16岁至45岁人群中，有55%的人表示，他们担心年老时会感到孤独。

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，孤独不仅会让人感到孤立，还会带来比肥胖更大的健康风险。老年人也不是唯一感到孤独的人:根据2019年的另一项调查，五分之一的千禧一代表示感到孤独，而且“没有朋友”。青少年也比以往任何时候都更加孤独，数字工作环境似乎加剧了这一问题。

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.

为了应对这种情况，美国一位科学家目前正在研发一种治疗孤独的药物，英国已经任命了一位孤独部长来帮助缓解这种流行病。