I previously was in the situation where I visited a lot of people at their homes, many of which were " cold calls" IE I did not go there with a written request
The amount of lonely people was noticeable and also noticeable was the number of women who would quickly invite you in with little regard to who you were. Most of these people were in families but still very lonely.
So just an observation that a lot of people have empty lives, they may have people around them, they may live alone, but far too many of them are lonely with little to give their lives meaning
IMHO it starts when people give up work and lose the networking that a job and work create, when you leave work you have to be proactive in finding people to socialist with, golf, bowls or some activity where you can met people, people who will not necessarily become firm friends, just acquaintances to talk to, people who you can argue with, laugh with or share a cup on coffee.
