Oregon State University May 8 2026 A first-of-its-kind study of U.S. adults suggests that all of those strangers you're friends with on social media are not helping you to feel less lonely. On the contrary, social media connection with people you don't know in person is associated with increased loneliness, according to scientists at Oregon State University. In a nationally representative study of more than 1,500 adults ages 30-70, connecting online with people you actually do know was not