The loneliness epidemic

Have people always felt lonely, or is this so-called epidemic a new one? Read personal essays and cultural analysis on modern isolation from a range of perspectives.

Series

Photograph of a young man sat in a deck chair on a sandy beach, looking out to sea. To his right is an empty deck chair.

The beach. © Camilla Greenwell for Wellcome Collection.

Article

How online dating can make us lonely

The packed diary of an internet dater doesn’t necessarily denote fun, companionship and love. Find out what Christina Patterson learned on her internet-dating odyssey.

Article

Lonely bodies are hungry for more than turkey

At Christmas, many charities provide dinners for homeless or isolated people. Food is central to festive celebrations, but it can also satisfy our hunger for belonging and community.

Article

Sick of being lonely

When his relationship ended, Thom James first withdrew from the world, then began to suffer from illnesses with no apparent physical cause.

Article

Robinson Crusoe and the morality of solitude

Robinson Crusoe, fiction’s most famous castaway, was certainly isolated, but did he suffer the intrinsically modern affliction of loneliness?

In pictures

The hermit life from medieval to modern

Can hermits get lonely? Explore solitary lives through the ages, from early religious ascetics to children imprisoned in churches, and on to those compelled to withdraw from modern life in the 21st century.