[jacobmoe]

This seems right to me. I would point out that you don't have to live a 20 minute drive from anything to be alone. Loneliness is as much a problem in cities as anywhere else.

Also, isn't loneliness also a major issue in other cultures, like Scandinavian or Japanese cultures?

[hrktb]

I think Japan has issues of isolation more than loneliness (basically the inverse issue: people shutting down social interactions as flight mechanism)

[AstralStorm]

On top of that you have academic and work achievement put on pedestal. And not, say, being a decent social human being.

[ixtli]

This is a very good point and im gonna update my comment. The distance between people physically is just something that really sticks out to me having lived in tokyo and manhattan. My party trick degree is in japanese lit and oh the giant book i could write on this topic. It's complex and yea they have a big loneliness problem.