Curbing the loneliness epidemic

Life post-pandemic has hardly been a return to normal. Post COVID-19, another quieter epidemic has been spreading – the loneliness epidemic. We are only just beginning to take steps to recognise and treat it appropriately.

Whenever I mention that I hardly use Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, people often ask if I feel out of touch. As someone currently in midlife, I face career and business pressures, and like many my age the fragility of an aging parent, and the loss of frequent contact with my young adult children who live far away. These factors can contribute to feelings of isolation but it doesn’t cross my mind to find solutions or care on social media. To me, it’s a place that people are marketing themselves and if you are reading this now you might wonder at whether this post is doing just that.

The level of loneliness experienced by younger people ?is reported to be acute and they do look for solutions on social platforms. They do so in spite of uncontrolled algorithms, hyper engaging platform features, and increasingly deceptive advertising practices on social media. One manifestation of this loneliness is the phenomenon of "friendship applications" on platforms like Facebook. Research shows that it is mostly under 30 year olds that create posts inviting others to befriend them, often listing their interests and personal attributes in an application-like format. They are sharing their need for connection, lamenting the loss of community, and creating #mentalhealth alerts. ?Does anybody care or even respond when innumerable people’s whole multiple-truthed, many layered lives are viewed as content to be consumed?

The WHO established a Commission on Social Connection to investigate the problem inter generationally and explore solutions as a global public health priority. The three-year Commission’s findings will be illuminating. While we wait for these, we must ask ourselves how we got here. Some blame the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted economic and social activity and ushered in an era of remote working and living. But loneliness has been on the rise since before then.

Socio-economic and demographic trends have played a role. People increasingly live alone, are single or unmarried, or have smaller families. The number of older people and people living with illnesses, disabilities and chronic conditions is increasing. In a difficult economic environment, we work more and have less time and resources for social and leisure activities. The rise of gig and freelance work also often means irregular hours and a lack of stable, supportive workplace communities. Highly competitive educational environments can result in isolation, as students may prioritise academic success over social connections.

As a result, levels of community involvement are decreasing. People tend to participate less in groups built around shared values and purpose, such as faith-based groups, sports and social clubs and even labour unions. We can’t solve this problem simply by insisting that people get “out there.” In an advisory on the topic, the US Surgeon General reminds us that:

“connectedness is influenced by more than simply personal or interpersonal factors. It is also shaped by the social infrastructure of the community (or communities) in which one is born, grows up, learns, plays, works, and ages.

Social infrastructure includes the physical assets of a community (such as libraries and parks), programs (such as volunteer organizations and member associations), and local policies (such as public transportation and housing) that support the development of social connection.

The social infrastructure of these communities is in turn influenced by broader social policies, cultural norms, the technology environment, the political environment, and macroeconomic factors. Moreover, individuals are simultaneously influenced by societal-level conditions such as cooperation, discrimination, inequality, and the collective social connectedness or disconnectedness of the community. All of these shape the availability of opportunities for social connection.”

Any cure to the loneliness epidemic must include improving our social infrastructure, so that people have opportunities to form genuine connections.

One key step in improving social infrastructure is increasing the number of “third spaces”. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” to describe spaces outside of the home (the first place) and school or the workplace (the second place) where people can engage with others, form connections and build community – all with little cost or effort. Think of a coffee shop you can spend the afternoon at, a mall where teenagers gather on the weekends, a library that hosts book clubs, or a safe and clean park, where people exercise and walk their dogs. Increasingly, third places are becoming rarer, as everything around us seems to be commodified.

I want to propose that online or hybrid communities of practices can play an important role as new “third places”, where we can go to meet new people and form genuine relationships based on shared interests, collaboration and the building of a shared practice. We can intentionally design community of practice environments that resonate culturally and personally with the members, creating a space where people feel a deep sense of connection and ownership.

A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common interest, profession, or passion and come together to collectively learn, share knowledge, and support each other. CoPs can be online, offline, or hybrid and are characterised by regular interaction, mutual engagement, and a shared repertoire of resources and experiences. An online CoP supports digital well-being by creating a supportive, engaging, and balanced digital environment that promotes continuous learning, meaningful connections, and healthy digital practices.

These communities build collaboration, skill development, and the creation of new knowledge, making them valuable for both personal and professional growth. Imagine a group with a shared interest in knitting who meet to discuss inspiration, share patterns and techniques, develop their skills together, share their tricks and sources of wool and constructively criticise each other’s work. Not only is this group creating knowledge together, but they are also creating community, connection and genuine relationships.

My research over the past few years into moderating CoPs has shown that even as communities of practice become more popular, this benefit remains under-appreciated. Relationships built on foundations of shared interest, mutual support and a sense of belonging are strong relationships. In this way, whether virtual, in person or hybrid, I am convinced that communities of practice can make an important contribution to the social infrastructure that makes connection possible.

How are you combating loneliness in your life? Do you believe communities of practice can be part of the solution? I was invited to join one just today, by a group of women who want to support each other as small business CEO’s. Not to compete, not to show a badge on your email signature, not to post a selfie that markets your brilliance, but to give real genuine support in an online community where you can connect and co-create and be just your messy self.

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Read more:

WHO Commission on Social Connection - https://www.who.int/groups/commission-on-social-connection

USA Surgeon General Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation” (2023) - https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

Finlay et al “Closure of ‘Third Places’? Exploring Potential Consequences for Collective Health and Wellbeing” (2019) Health Place - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6934089/

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