OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Loneliness can be a dark time for many and days like Valentine's Day can emphasize those feelings. Two women are tackling this growing issue, especially in older adults, creating connection through an app, as doctors shine a light on what they are calling a public health crisis.
"It is hard to make friends as we age," said Carolyn Kelly, co-founder of Wyzr Friends.
Carolyn Kelly and Taylor Jay saw the difficulty of meeting people and created Wyzr Friends, an app for people over 40 to meet and connect safely.
"You tap the thumbs up, to like a profile, and the thumbs down to say maybe later and then once you match with someone, you can chat or you can use our friend blast feature, which makes it really easy to make plans,” Taylor Jay said.
Getting people out to meet others for the betterment of their health, something doctors emphasized Tuesday.
"There are studies that suggest that loneliness is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,” said Doctor Harmit Singh, who works in Adult Psychiatry at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs. “On the other side, social connection can improve your survival rate by 50 percent."
Doctors described 3 common types of loneliness.
Relational, intimate, and collective. Dr. Singh with CHI Health says he believes social media is impacting all those areas.
"Because we are so engaged in social media, we are also seeing a definite lack in collective experience as a human society," Singh said.
It's a concern doctors are seeing in all ages.
"So much of our life is just spent in the fast lane, that we really do need to spend time, slowing things down, being more mindful being in the moment," said Dr. Zachary Keller, who works in Youth Psychiatry, CHI Health Richard Young Outpatient Clinic.
Dr. Singh says to rely on the five "F"s.
Family, friends, faith, finding your third space - or a place of community engagement and finding your cause... a purpose or service.
While it is technology and social media based -- Carolyn and Taylor are hoping their app will kickstart friendships in the real-world.
"We have certainly users under 40 and we even have a 93-year-old on the app," Carolyn said. "If she is willing to do that anyone can," Carolyn said.
Creating needed connection - no matter the age.
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