The BBC Loneliness Experiment

Illustration of woman looking lonely in a group of friends

55,000 people from around the world chose to take part in the BBC Loneliness Experiment, making it the world’s largest ever study on loneliness. Researchers from the universities of Manchester, Brunel and Exeter, led by Professor Pamela Qualter and funded by the Wellcome Trust, developed a questionnaire asking people what they thought loneliness was, when they felt lonely and for how long.

The BBC Loneliness Experiment was launched in All in the Mind on BBC Radio 4 and Health Check on BBC World Service. In a series of radio programmes, podcasts, features and animations, Claudia presents the results.

Programmes:

The BBC Loneliness Experiment

Illustration of woman looking lonely in a group of friends

55,000 people from around the world chose to take part in the BBC Loneliness Experiment, making it the world’s largest ever study on loneliness. Researchers from the universities of Manchester, Brunel and Exeter, led by Professor Pamela Qualter and supported by the Wellcome Trust, developed a questionnaire asking people what they thought loneliness was, when they felt lonely and for how long.

The BBC Loneliness Experiment was launched in All in the Mind on BBC Radio 4 and Health Check on BBC World Service. In a series of radio programmes, podcasts, features and animations, Claudia presents the results.

Programmes:

Claudia Hammond

The BBC Loneliness Experiment

Results

Claudia reveals the survey results

An illustration of a lone figure

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode One

The top solutions to loneliness

A girl alone in a crowd

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode Two

The influence of social media on loneliness

A lone figure in silhouette

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode Three

The health impacts of loneliness

Claudia Hammond

The BBC Loneliness Experiment

Results

Claudia reveals the survey results

An illustration of a lone figure

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode One

The top solutions to loneliness

A girl alone in a crowd

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode Two

The influence of social media on loneliness

A lone figure in silhouette

Anatomy of Loneliness

Episode Three

The health impacts of loneliness

Features:

Features:

A graph

Who Feels Lonely?

The main survey results

A woman's face

Experiences of Loneliness

Claudia talks to three people

An illustration of a lonely woman

Is Loneliness Affecting Your Health?

The physical & mental consequences of loneliness

An illustration of people holding hands

Nine ways to feel less lonely

The solutions people said worked for them

A person dimly seen through frosted glass

The Surprising Truth about Loneliness

Five unexpected findings

A lone figure

Five Myths about Loneliness

Some common ideas dispelled

A graph

Who Feels Lonely?

The main survey results

A woman's face

Experiences of Loneliness

Claudia talks to three people

An illustration of a lonely woman

Is Loneliness Affecting Your Health?

The physical & mental consequences of loneliness

An illustration of people holding hands

Nine ways to feel less lonely

The solutions people said worked for them

A person dimly seen through frosted glass

The Surprising Truth about Loneliness

Five unexpected findings

A lone figure

Five Myths about Loneliness

Some common ideas dispelled

Podcasts:

This series of podcasts outlines the top 7 solutions voted for by 55,000 people in the BBC Loneliness Experiment. These are the solutions people said worked best for them or for people they knew, although not every solution will work for everyone. In these podcasts, Claudia discusses the evidence for each solution with Professor Pam Qualter.

Podcasts:

This series of podcasts outlines the top 7 solutions voted for by 55,000 people in the BBC Loneliness Experiment. These are the solutions people said worked best for them or for people they knew, although not every solution will work for everyone. In these podcasts, Claudia discusses the evidence for each solution with Professor Pam Qualter.

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

One

Work, study or hobbies

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Two

Join a club

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Three

Positive thinking

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Four

Start a conversation with anyone

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Five

Talk to friends or family about your feelings

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Six

Look for the good in every person you meet

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Seven

Reflect on why you might feel lonely

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

One

Work, study or hobbies

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Two

Join a club

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Three

Positive thinking

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Four

Start a conversation with anyone

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Five

Talk to friends or family about your feelings

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Six

Look for the good in every person you meet

The BBC Loneliness Experiment icon - a lone figure

Seven

Reflect on why you might feel lonely

Publications:

Pearce, E., Barreto, M., Victor, C., Hammond, C., Eccles, A. M., Richins, M. T., O’Neil, A., Knowles, M. L., & Qualter, P. (2022). Choking under pressure: Does it get easier with age? How loneliness affects social monitoring across the life span. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 46(1), 50–62. 

Barreto, M., Victor, C., Hammond, C., Eccles, A., Richins, M. T., & Qualter, P. (2021). Loneliness around the world: Age, gender, and cultural differences in loneliness. Personality and individual differences, 169, 110066. 

Qualter, P., Petersen, K., Barreto, M., Victor, C., Hammond, C.,  Arshad, S.A. (2021) Exploring the Frequency, Intensity, and Duration of Loneliness: A Latent Class Analysis of Data from the BBC Loneliness Experiment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 12027. 

Madrid-Valero, J. J., Bowling, N., Vafeiadou, A., Buysse, D. J., Banissy, M. J., & Gregory, A. M. (2022). Sleep in adults from the UK during the first few months of the coronavirus outbreak. Journal of Sleep Research, 31, e13465. 

Switsers, L., Qualter, P., Pan, H., Barreto, M., De Donder, L., Victor, C., Dury, S., Hammond, C., & Dierckx, E. (2022). Exploring the demographic and situational characteristics of older British people experiencing loneliness as positive within the BBC loneliness experiment. Aging & mental health, 1–7.  

Victor, C. R., Rippon, I., Barreto, M., Hammond, C., & Qualter, P. (2022). Older adults’ experiences of loneliness over the lifecourse: An exploratory study using the BBC loneliness experiment. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 102, 104740