Loneliness

Photo of a waiting room with focus on a black hat. A woman reads papers and another looks at her phone in the background.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

How to strike up a friendly conversation

It can be awkward at first, but there are specific methods you can use to spark an enjoyable chat with just about anyone

by Michael Yeomans

Photo of a man holding a microphone and equipment standing on a walkway with blurred people passing by in the foreground.
LONELINESS

Lonely in London, a filmmaker sets out to make a new friend

A film by Hugh Clegg

Woman outdoors smiling and holding a gimbal with mounted smartphone, showing a blonde AI woman on the phone screen, wearing a surgical mask pulled below her chin.
LOVE

‘Why can’t you be real?’ The emotionally fraught business of falling for an AI

Directed by Chouwa Liang

Photo of two women sitting on a park bench in autumn, surrounded by fallen leaves and trees.
AGEING

How to feel less lonely as you get older

Work and family life are no longer so busy and life can suddenly seem empty. Here are some good ways to stay connected

by Carrie Ditzel

A boy wearing a cap and t-shirt sits alone on white stadium bleachers, looking to the side with his arms crossed.
LONELINESS

How to overcome the loneliness of youth

It’s extremely common to feel lonely when you’re young. Many strategies can help, the key is finding what works for you

by Lily Verity & Pamela Qualter

Photo of a wet pavement reflecting a person’s silhouette and orange lights on a rainy day.
PERSONALITY DISORDERS

Some people feel so utterly alone it’s as if they don’t exist

People diagnosed with ‘avoidant personality disorder’ fear getting close to other people, yet crave greater connection

by Kristine Dahl Sørensen & Marit Råbu

Photo of two people embracing tightly outdoors with eyes closed, surrounded by a blurred crowd in the background.
TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA

Technology promises hugs at a distance. Beware what you wish for

New ‘haptic’ technologies promise to help us touch each other at a distance, but they could leave us even more isolated

by Andrew Wold & Rebecca Böhme

Black and white photo of an empty city street flanked by tall buildings, featuring vintage cars and a distant vanishing point.
PHOTOGRAPHY

Struth’s unpeopled photos evoke the loneliness of urban life

Thomas Struth’s empty streets speak of an existential loneliness that is a shadowy but ever-present aspect of urban life

by Richard Deming

A small wooden cabin on a hill at sunset with a pink sky and mountains in the background.
NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Watching for wildfires merges ancient and modern in our relationship to nature

Directed by Lindsey Hagen