What is A Life Less Lonely?
On Friday 12 December and across the weekend, the 大象传媒 will explore the huge spectrum of loneliness in the UK today, with an innovative programming across radio, TV and online.
A Life Less Lonely will offer audiences a unique insight into how loneliness affects people of all ages and backgrounds, bringing them to the heart of the issue. People of all ages and walks of life, from teenagers and young mums to successful business people and the elderly, will share their experiences of loneliness.
Across the day there will be case studies, interviews, monologues, videos, audio and blogs from the wide variety of programmes made in 大象传媒 North, including , programmes on , and plus and a .
Audiences will be able to interact via the hashtag , which encourages people to take ten minutes out of their day to talk to someone they think would appreciate a conversation.
A Life Less Lonely will also look at the work of charities running inventive projects up and down the country aiming to ease isolation for lonely people.
In addition will be releasing the results of a specially-commissioned nationwide poll about loneliness on Friday, 12 December.
Loneliness is related to but distinct from social isolation. Social isolation - the absence of social contact is a risk factor for loneliness. However, a person can be surrounded by friends and family and still feel lonely. Quantity does not always offer the quality emotional support we'd like.
Research suggests we are less likely to know our neighbours and less likely to have dependable friendships compared to our European counterparts (ONS, 2014).
A Life Less Lonely hopes to stimulate new thinking around who is lonely, how it affects us and how we can tailor interventions to mitigate risk and reach those individuals who are feeling lonely.
A Life Less Lonely is produced for the 大象传媒 by Manchester-based independent .
