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“Where do they all come from?”wondered Paul McCartney in 1966.“
“他們都是從哪里來的?”保羅·麥卡特尼在1966年問道。
Britain’s government has taken a more analytical approach to lonely people.
英國政府對孤獨的人采取了更為分析的方法。
Five years ago it launched a “loneliness strategy”, to tackle “one of the greatest public-health challenges of our time.”
五年前，它啟動了一項“孤獨戰略”，以應對“我們這個時代最大的公共衛生挑戰之一”。
The Office for National Statistics (ons) developed measures to test it.
英國國家統計局制定了測試方法。
The government provided funds for research.
政府為研究提供資金。
It told doctors to try “social prescribing”, sending patients to social events rather than to the pharmacy.
它告訴醫生嘗試“社會處方”，讓病人參加社會活動，而不是去藥房開藥。
And it appointed a loneliness minister.
它還任命了一位孤獨部長。
Loneliness is one of many briefs that Stuart Andrew, mp for Pudsey, West Yorkshire, has at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
孤獨部長是在文化、媒體和體育部工作的斯圖爾特·安德魯眾多概要的其中之一，他是來自西約克郡帕德西的議員。
Yet it is tempting to scoff.
然而，它很容易被嘲笑。
Stephen Colbert, a comedian, joked that “Minister for Loneliness” sounded like “a Victorian euphemism for ‘gigolo’”.
喜劇演員斯蒂芬·科爾伯特開玩笑說，“孤獨部長”聽起來像是“維多利亞時代對‘舞男’的委婉說法”。
Loneliness is hard to pin down: the government defines it as “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship.”
孤獨很難界定:政府將其定義為“一種主觀的、不受歡迎的，缺乏或失去陪伴的感覺”。
Like all emotions, it is difficult to measure.
和所有的情緒一樣，它很難衡量。
So is the success of interventions designed to tackle it.
為解決這一問題而設計的干預措施的成功與否也是如此。
It has probably become more common.
孤獨可能已經變得越來越普遍。
Some 8.3m people lived alone in 2022, a 16% increase in two decades.
在2022年，大約有830萬人獨自生活，在20年內增長了16%。
Many Britons have less cash for going out than before.
許多英國人為外出準備的現金都比以前少了。
And socialising online is no substitute for the real thing.
網絡社交并不能代替現實生活。
The Campaign to End Loneliness, a charity, says 7% of British adults report being lonely often or always.
慈善組織“終結孤獨運動”稱，7%的英國成年人經?；蚩偸歉械焦陋?。
Those aged between 16 and 29 are twice as likely to report feeling lonely as those over 70.
年齡在16歲到29歲之間的人感到孤獨的可能性是70歲以上的人的兩倍。
A large study by Pamela Qualter, a professor of psychology at Manchester University, and others found that people in countries (like Britain and America) that score high for individualism also report greater loneliness.
曼徹斯特大學的心理學教授帕梅拉· 夸爾特和其他人進行的一項大型研究發現，在個人主義得分高的國家(如英國和美國)，人們也上報自己有更大的孤獨感。
This matters because it seems to have a terrible effect on health.
這很重要，因為它似乎對健康有可怕的影響。
A large study in Nature Human Behaviour, a journal, found that people who are lonely are more likely to die early.
《自然人類行為》雜志的一項大型研究發現，孤獨的人更有可能早死。
That may be because they have no one to remind them to eat healthily, exercise or go to the doctor.
這可能是因為沒有人提醒他們健康飲食、鍛煉或去看醫生。
