This is a longitudinal study using the data from the State of the Nation Report 2023, and its release coincides with National Loneliness Awareness Week 2024.
It represents a deep dive into how different life circumstances contribute to persistent loneliness and social isolation.
This study is a follow-up of the 2023 State of the Nation Report on Social Connection in Australia, which revealed that 1 in 3 Australians feel lonely at any given time.
Loneliness is a normal signal for us to connect with others, but some of us stay lonely for longer because of life circumstances and the barriers we face.
To identify who stays lonely and what life circumstances one may be experiencing, we tracked the social experiences of over 4000 Australians across a period of 4 months.
We found that 1 in 4 Australians experience persistent loneliness – that is their experiences were not resolved within 8 weeks when we surveyed them again. For these individuals, it is likely that they face more barriers to seeking and developing healthy social connection, including limited accessibility to others, financial hardship, and poor health.
:format():fill())