Loneliness Awareness Week

IMAGE - Sophie Barker, Youth Live4Life Policy and Research Coordinator, at Canberra to attend the 'Parliamentary Friends of Ending Loneliness' breakfast

Do you sometimes feel lonely? Loneliness can be less about how many people you’re surrounded by, and more about how connected you feel to those people. It can affect anyone.

It's Loneliness Awareness Week this week, 7–13 August, and a State of the Nation Report on Social Connection in Australia 2023 was launched at Parliament House on Monday.

The report provides a snapshot of Australia's understanding and experiences of loneliness and social isolation with key insights including:

• almost 1 in 3 Australians feel lonely

• there are more lonely Australians living in rural areas than metropolitan areas

• young people aged 18–24 yrs report the highest level of loneliness

• Australians who feel lonely are more likely to have chronic disease, depression, social anxiety and poorer wellbeing

• loneliness is related to social media addiction, a condition more common among young people

IMAGE - Sophie Barker with lived experience speaker Joey Fry

Sophie Barker, our Policy and Research Coordinator, visited Canberra to attend the report's launch and 'Parliamentary Friends of Ending Loneliness' breakfast with key speakers including Dr Michelle H Lim (Chair and Scientific Chair, Ending Loneliness Together), Prof John Pollaers OAM, The Hon Minister Andrew Giles MP, Mrs Bridget Archer MP, The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Prof Hugh Mackay AO, Prof Ben Smith and others, along with lived experience speakers Joey Fry and Holly Britt.

Despite how common loneliness is, nearly 1 in 2 Australians are too embarrassed to talk about it. But it's important to smash the stigma and start having conversations when we're feeling lonely and making connections within our communities to get the support we need. Reducing loneliness is a goal we can all tackle together.

If you’re looking for connection, head to the National Directory at Ending Loneliness to find groups, organisations and services that will help you, or someone you know, connect with others and build meaningful relationships. endingloneliness.com.au/search/

If you need someone to talk to, call:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Men’s Line on 1300 789 978

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

To learn more, please visit https://lonelinessawarenessweek.com.au