Daily time spent socializing has dropped by several minutes nationally, while time spent on screens and games has climbed by roughly the same amount. Psychologists point to a mix of causes: the isolation of pandemic lockdowns, the disappearance of "third places" where people used to hang out without spending money, and a rising cost of living that makes casual socializing feel like an expense rather than a given.

A 2021 study of family caregivers in Korea put a hard figure on something many caregivers already feel in their bones: caregivers who handle everything alone and have no time left for social contact are nearly four times more likely to experience severe caregiving stress than those who aren't isolated. Even caregivers who share the workload with others still showed elevated stress if they were socially cut off — proof that isolation itself, not just the caregiving workload, is doing the damage.

So the same national trend — fewer spontaneous hangouts, less time, more screens — hits caregivers on top of an already shrinking baseline. If the average American is down to 30-some minutes of social time a day, the average caregiver is often working from near zero. They're not just part of the two-thirds who don't socialize on a given day; caregiving is often the very thing keeping them there.

Some of this mirrors what's happening nationally — less free time, fewer easy ways to socialize without money or effort, a culture that's drifted toward screens by default. But caregiving adds its own layer on top.

None of this means isolation is permanent or inevitable. Small, deliberate steps tend to work better than trying to rebuild an entire social life at once:

• Start absurdly small. A 10-minute phone call or a text to a neighbor counts. The goal is reconnecting the habit, not filling a calendar.
• Flip the visit. If leaving the house isn't realistic, invite people in instead — even briefly.
• Use respite care. A few hours of professional or volunteer help can be the difference between "I have no time" and "I have an hour."
• Find other caregivers. Support groups — in person or online — are often the only place caregivers feel fully understood without having to explain themselves first.
• Remove the barriers you can control. If odor or fear of accidents is what's keeping your door closed, that's a solvable problem — and one our incontinence cleaning products are built for, so you can stop dreading visitors and start having them again.

The national numbers on their own are already a wake-up call — most people, caregiver or not, are more isolated than they were a decade ago. But caregivers don't get to wait out a cultural shift. Caregiving will always ask a lot. Isolation doesn't have to be part of the deal — and often, undoing it starts with removing just one barrier at a time.