The loneliness epidemic spurs US$1,000-a-day grief retreat boom

One prominent 2019 study by WedMD estimates that more than one-third of adults in the U.S. are grieving a recent loss. PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK PHOTO Article content When Harvard professor Robert Putnam published his book Bowling Alone in 2000, smartphones didn’t exist. But already social life as we knew it was orienting itself toward screens and away from parent-teacher associations, civic groups, religious organizations and even bowling clubs. Back then it was television that absorbed our attention. Now, the median time American adults spend staring at smartphones is six hours per day. A…