Early November, a so-called expert hearing on Loneliness and the book presentation “Loneliness in Europe” took place in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Loneliness, as a public health crisis, is high on the agenda of the European Commission. Loneliness is a social problem, not just a problem of the lonely individual. The costs of loneliness for society arise partly because lonely people have reduced productivity and higher absenteeism, rely more on already overburdened care and have a greater risk of diseases and disorders. We are talking about costs that run into billions because millions of Europeans feel lonely.
Experts from left to right: Beatrice D’Hombres, Pamala Qualter, Maike Luhmann, Judith Merkies and Jill Litt © European Union 2024 – Source : EP
But what is that, loneliness? According to De Jong-Gierveld, “Loneliness is the subjective experience of an unpleasant or intolerable lack of (quality of) certain social relationships.”
Loneliness occurs in all echelons, age groups and social welfare classes. The idea that loneliness is only a problem of the elderly is outdated, it is also young people who are lonely, even more so than the elderly (loneliness decreases there).
A small summary :
- 1 in 8 people feel very lonely, 2 in 5 feel lonely
- The group of Young women between 16-24 has the most loneliness
- Loneliness also affects marginalized groups based on ethnicity, race and sexual preference.
- Loneliness is not just a feeling, it also has medical and socio-economic consequences
Health crisis
In the US, the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murphy, recently issued a report citing loneliness as a public health crisis. Lonely people have a 29% higher risk of heart disease, a 32% higher risk of stroke, the elderly a 50% higher risk of developing dementia, and insufficient social connection increases the risk of premature death by more than 60%.
The costs involved are considerable. For the United States, the cost of stress-related absences from loneliness to employers is estimated at $154 billion. In Spain, it has been estimated that the cost is 14 billion a year or 1.2% of GDP.
Loneliness in Europe
Loneliness was put on the European agenda at the time by former MEP Judith Merkies. Together with MEP Evelyn Regner and others, she has fought to map loneliness. This has led to the pilot project “Monitoring Loneliness in Europe” in which the first Europe-wide survey on loneliness was conducted in the (27 Member States, 25,646 respondents aged 16 and over).
This study shows that 13% of Europeans feel lonely and 35% sometimes feel lonely. After the hearing, the first copy of the book written as a result of the pilot project was handed over to Evelyn Regner.
Broad approach to loneliness
Loneliness and its approach must be tackled broadly.
During the hearing, the experts agreed that more research is needed. There seems to be a correlation between the use of social media and the feeling of loneliness. With long daily passive social media use, a feeling of loneliness can arise. However, correlation is not causality. Research is needed to see how this can be prevented.
People who are lonely have less trust in the government and the democratic process and often vote more extremely. The loneliest people are often unable to break through loneliness, they are trapped in the lonely existence.
Loneliness is not just a matter of not having anyone around you. There are indications that a lonely childhood or few friends also leads to a lonely life later in life.
Loneliness can arise because you cannot communicate, something like stuttering can already evoke a feeling of loneliness. Marginalized groups are more likely to experience loneliness and even the way the built environment; cities and villages, can increase loneliness or when done in the right way, reduce loneliness.
Loneliness can also be caused by losing a job or losing a loved one. In short, loneliness is something that can arise in many ways and that affects many aspects of our society.
Lonely EU project
There are already many initiatives in the field of loneliness at all levels. The EU JRC pilot project has mapped out a number of them.
From February 2025, the 3-year Lonely EU project will start, which aims to collect data on loneliness and arrive at so-called ‘evidence-based policy recommendations’ for policymakers to reduce loneliness.
In this project, led by Prof. Dr. Maike Luhmann from the University of Ruhr-Bochum, together with other universities from Italy, Poland and the Netherlands (VU University, Judith Merkies) and researchers (France), work together with stakeholders in this field.
If you are interested in more information, please contact us via info@lonelyeu.org or visit Loneliness in Europe (Website).
