Here is data from three different survey-based studies. First is loneliness among the elderly over the past few generations:
Next is loneliness among high school students over the past three decades up to 2012:
Finally, here is Gallup's survey of overall loneliness since the pandemic:
Based on these numbers, the best guess is that loneliness among the elderly has been flat for a long time and loneliness among everyone else has been going down in recent years.
Self-reported levels of loneliness might not be an accurate way to measure loneliness. We all use various defensive proxy mechanisms to lie to ourselves.
I feel both much less lonely and much less bored than I used to because my mind is always occupied by my phone, computer, and TV. I don't consider that to be an improvement.
This tracks as March of 2021 was probably my worst mental health of my lifetime.
As a "loner" I believe one of our big problems is that we are not happy with ourselves which can lead to loneliness. I was happy being alone for the most part. Even after marrying and having children I longed for "alone time".
But I never confused the two feelings.
Are we too connected for our own collective good?