When male loneliness is brought up, what is meant? Romantic loneliness or general loneliness?

From “The Male Loneliness Epidemic” from Western Oregon University:

For one, research conducted in 2021 found that 15% of men claim that they have no close friends, a staggering 12% increase since 1990.

A study published by Equimundo in 2023 found that a majority of men, ranging from older Millennials to Generation Z, agree with the statement, “No one really knows me well,” with Generation Z having the highest percentage of agreement among all respondents.

In this same publication, a majority of men stated that they only have one or two close friends in their area that they feel they can confide in outside of their family.

In the realm of romantic relationships, men are more likely to be single and have less sex than women. A 2022 Pew Research Center survey found that six in ten men under the age of 30 are single, nearly double the rate of women at the time. The Equimundo study found that roughly one in five men are either not looking for a relationship or are unable to find sexual partners.

This OP is not implying that platonic bonds are a replacement for romantic bonds. That is not being suggested.

However when men say they feel “isolation” and “solitude” and like “no one knows me”, this is foreign to a lot of single and sexless women because their intimate connections that they’ve mutually fostered with their female friends makes them feel less isolation and solitude, even if they still crave romantic bonds.

Last week a guy here posted a YouTube video about male loneliness. Many of the replies in the comments were indeed sad. Many guys said stuff like “I wish someone other than my parents cared about me” or “no one cares about me.” I know men are different, but from a female perspective, many single women have female friends who care about them and check in on them. It’s not a thought that “no one cares about me outside of my parents” because for many people the answer to this is their friends. When single women need someone to pick them up after surgery, they’re calling their friends. And not only that! Their friend usually gives them some soup and comforting care too. I’ve had friends who were going through a tough time and other friends near them cooked for them, hugged them, offered to relieve burden.

I know men want romantic relationships, but it seems like the “male loneliness crisis” is about more than finding a girlfriend. It seems like a lot of these men desire community and care which btw is natural and human! But for single women, that community and care comes from other women: her friends.

• What are some ways to foster that for men? Because even men in romantic relationships with women tend to feel isolated or they let the women do all the community maintenance.

• Or is that moot and the only thing worth focusing on is getting more men girlfriends?

• If so, how do you make getting men a female romantic partner a societal priority without it coming off unsettling to women who have been positioned as “the fix” to his loneliness?