Loneliness “a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship. It happens when we have a mismatch between the quantity and quality of social relationships that we have, and those that we want.”
Perlman & Peplau, 1981; DCMS Loneliness Strategy; ONS
The terms loneliness and isolation tend to conjure an image of an older person, housebound and frail with physical isolation leading to loneliness. Increasingly however, we are becoming aware that loneliness is negatively impacting other age groups too, especially younger people under 25yrs.
In 2018, 55,000 people participated in an online survey for the BBC in collaboration with Wellcome Collection, which found that:
“40% of 16 to 24-year-olds who took part told us they often or very often feel lonely, compared with 27% of over 75s. We saw higher levels of loneliness in young people across cultures, countries, and genders.”
Research by Campaign to End Loneliness reveals that 1 in 5 millennials has no more than one friend and finds that loneliness is getting worse post-pandemic. They point to three structural drivers for this:
- Negative changes to the infrastructure of our communities e.g. fewer youth clubs and community centres.
- Social Media and widespread use of mobile phones – many younger people keep in touch only by remote messaging, losing valuable face to face contact and reducing their ability to make friends.
- The cost of living crisis – social activities can be expensive.
Initial research carried out for the Hampshire 2050 Vision for the Future indicates that 91% of young people living in Hampshire do not feel listened to in the wider community.
It is well documented that loneliness negatively impacts wellbeing, can lead to mental health issues and has a serious economic cost. In March 2022, the Mental Health Foundation and London School of Economics and Political Science estimated that mental health issues cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion each year.
Interestingly, our conversations with older people living in Winchester have revealed that they too feel that their voices are not heard, describing themselves as ‘the forgotten generation’. This suggests that both younger and older people are currently feeling overlooked and undervalued.
A recent research report published by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) finds that 37 county- based charities now cite lack of transport as the largest concern within rural populations, closely followed by loneliness, along with insufficient affordable housing and worries about health and social care.
The recent Department for Transport (DfT), Tackling Loneliness with Transport initiative has now ended and we are documenting the delivery and outcomes of our involvement in this project. Over the coming weeks we will share more with you about this project including the barriers to becoming connected within the community and the various discussion points it has brought to the fore. We will also hi-light our recommendations on how we can make a difference to this growing issue.
