00:00 From instant messages to video calls bridging geographical gaps, we're more connected than
00:14 ever before.
00:15 But as technology increasingly helps our daily lives, people are feeling more disconnected
00:22 and isolated.
00:29 We're online a lot and we've lost that connectivity.
00:33 Most people want connection and that's something sadly that we've lost through the digital
00:39 age.
00:40 And a lot of people have lost also the function of going out and socialising.
00:46 Janine McAnally lives by herself in Dubbo.
00:49 She says loneliness has been a constant in her life.
00:53 My husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour after we had our daughter and so I had to
01:01 nurse him through that and that was incredibly hard and at times incredibly lonely because
01:06 it was only me doing it.
01:11 That was hard.
01:13 Now chronic back pain makes it hard to leave the house.
01:16 As my body started to fail me, I found that it was difficult for me to get out of the
01:23 unit.
01:24 And so I didn't.
01:25 I could go three, four, five days and I'd just be in the unit.
01:29 The World Health Organisation has declared loneliness a global public health concern.
01:35 In the United States, it's been labelled an epidemic.
01:39 And experts say Australia is falling behind other countries when it comes to addressing
01:44 it.
01:45 Loneliness is a huge problem in the Australian community.
01:48 We know that almost one in three Australians report feeling lonely and one in six Australians
01:53 actually reported what we call severe levels of loneliness.
01:57 It comes in all shapes and forms and doesn't discriminate.
02:02 In Australia, research shows 18 to 24 year olds are the age group most affected by loneliness.
02:09 Groups like this running club in Sydney are growing in popularity, helping young people
02:13 make friends.
02:14 It's just hard when you're getting a bit older to make friends.
02:15 How do you make friends?
02:16 You come to things like this and you put yourself out there.
02:23 The biggest concern is loneliness leads to poorer health outcomes.
02:28 A growing body of research has found the health risks are comparable to smoking daily, drinking
02:35 excessively or obesity.
02:38 People who experience it are four times more likely to have depression and anxiety and
02:42 twice as likely to have a chronic disease and are at risk of dying earlier.
02:48 Loneliness is estimated to cost the Australian economy $2.7 billion a year.
02:53 I think the Australian government can do more.
02:57 One thing that governments can do is to actually look at the policies in which we live, work
03:02 and play with each other.
03:04 So do we actually live in an environment that kind of facilitates us forming these meaningful
03:09 social connections and as well as maintaining these connections?
03:13 Good morning Frank, it's Carolyn from Red Cross.
03:21 Carolyn Newman spends her morning calling isolated elderly people to make sure they're
03:25 okay.
03:26 You may be the only person they speak to and that can be true even if they live in a high
03:34 rise block of units.
03:36 Because we're always told that we've got a soldier on, you know, chin up, stiff upper
03:41 lip, all those sorts of things and really we should be saying look, are you okay?
03:48 Can I help you?
03:51 Small steps to solving a colossal problem.
03:54 [Music]
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