Because of the current global pandemic and the potential rise in loneliness worldwide, the Ad Council, with support from Beiersdorf, designed a study to understand the current state of loneliness, what can be done to address and prevent it from happening, and if or how factors like isolation and human touch play a role in contributing to or mitigating loneliness.
The research team designed a mixed methods research study across six countries (U.S., England, Italy, Germany, China, Brazil) specifically to understand:
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1. How people define feeling alone
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2. Why loneliness occurs and what contributes to loneliness
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3. Solutions to combat loneliness, including human touch
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4. The causality and correlation between:
- Loneliness, human touch, social inclusion, and connections/relationships
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5. What interventions and public campaign approaches could help address the issue
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6. The state of loneliness before and during the pandemic
So who is lonely, why are they lonely, and how can this problem be addressed? Who may be at risk for loneliness in the future? How can loneliness be mitigated or prevented, both in “typical” times and amid the pandemic? The findings in this report answer these questions and provide a deeper look into the profile of those who are lonely, as well as possible solutions to loneliness.