In this deeply digital age of super fast social media connections, people, it seems are surprisingly disconnected.

It is interesting that despite the myriad ways in which we can be social, what is being reported over and over again is loneliness and isolation.

The Campaign to End Lonliness has some sobering statistics for older people,

“17% of older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week and 11% are in contact less than once a month (Victor et al, 2003)
Over half (51%) of all people aged 75 and over live alone (ONS, 2010)
Two fifths all older people (about 3.9 million) say the television is their main company (Age UK, 2014)
59% of adults aged over 52 who report poor health say they feel lonely some of the time or often, compared to 21% who say they are in excellent health (Beaumont, 2013)
A higher percentage of women than men report feeling lonely some of the time or often (Beaumont, 2013)” Campaign to End Loneliness

It is not an issue that affects older generations alone.
An article published on PsychCentral in January 2017 reported on a study of Yong adults and found that rather then increasing a sense of connection, the frequency of social media interactions increased isolation and loneliness.

At Listen for Wellbeing, we are absolutely believing that creating Listening Posts is part of the solution to the problem of isolation, disconnection and loneliness.