Einsamkeit – die unerkannte Krankheit: schmerzhaft, ansteckend, tödlich

"Einsamkeit – die unerkannte Krankheit" ("Loneliness — The Unrecognized Illness") is Spitzer's 2018 book arguing that chronic loneliness functions as a health risk factor, associated in research he cites with higher rates of depression, cardiovascular disease, and earlier mortality. Spitzer connects rising loneliness in part to digital communication habits he argues increasingly substitute for face-to-face contact, particularly among heavy social-media and smartphone users, while noting the book's claim that loneliness also affects people who are married or otherwise not socially isolated. The book proposes that recognizing loneliness as a distinct health concern, rather than folding it into general unhappiness, should inform medical practice and policy. German reviewers publicly challenged several of the book's strongest causal claims. TechKids Foundation includes the title for its argument linking digitally mediated social contact to loneliness and depression risk, described in our own words as association rather than proven causation.

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