Social media and cost-of-living driving loneliness across Australia
We Are Lonely season 3 podcast to launch 18 September
•56% of people feel lonely in a typical week (up from 55% in 2023)
• Social media the biggest contributor to loneliness among 16–34-year-olds
• 46% who identify as lonely say cost-of-living pressures is a trigger for their loneliness
• Loneliness has increased among First Nations Australians since 2023 (up 9%)
The latest Medibank Loneliness Population Index shows loneliness is persisting in Australia, with more than half the population feeling lonely in a typical week.
The survey of around 4,000 people shows young adults remain the most impacted – with social media a key trigger of loneliness for around half of 16–34-year-olds. There has also been a 9% increase in loneliness among First Nations people compared to last year.
Among those who feel lonely, 73% say it impacts their heath while 58% report an impact to social interactions. In good news however, the data shows we’re getting better at identifying loneliness in ourselves and becoming more aware of its impacts.
The survey highlighted there is strong majority support from all ages for the push to raise the minimum age to access social media from 13 to 16. However, most Australians also recognise there is a role for social media in helping to combat loneliness in the community.
Now in its 3rd season, the We Are Lonely podcast continues to highlight how common loneliness is, help us all talk about it, and provide ideas and strategies to manage it.
Over 10 episodes, nine young people will share their experience of loneliness. For Tayla, it began after she lost her dad when she was 9. Sonali’s isolation comes from feeling not quite Indian enough but not Australian enough either. Brad had a near-death experience just after he came out, while Orin is autistic and feels they are not like others. Each participant meets with a mentor who helps them build practical strategies to reconnect with others.
Hosted by human connection scientist Dr Ali Walker, each episode is themed around one of the many triggers of loneliness for our participants – like social media, childhood grief, migration or mental health. This season’s mentors include psychologist Dr James Van Cuylenburg, Ru Paul’s Drag Race finalist Kween Kong, counsellor Tessa Blenclowe and academic Dr Quah Ee Ling.
In a special episode about social media, Ali speaks with Dr Daniel Surkalim – from the World Health Organisation's commission on social connection – about the impact of social media and whether it is making us all lonelier.
Medibank’s Hub Lead - Talent Engagement, Inclusion and Sustainability Andrew Retschko says We Are Lonely is part of Medibank’s 10-year commitment to addressing loneliness.
We all experience loneliness and if we learn to manage and minimise it, it’s no more than a healthy human emotion. But if it becomes chronic, it can have the same health impact as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. This is why we’re working to reduce loneliness across the community
“The more we talk about our feelings, the less alone we'll feel. So I think We Are Lonely is a very special look at just what goes on underneath” ….Brad, participant
Listen to We Are Lonely on Spotify and Apple Music. For more information visit We Are Lonely
Episode rundown – starts 18 September
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Loneliness and childhood grief - After Tayla’s dad died when she was 9, she found it easier to isolate herself than having to constantly explain the source of her grief. She meets with counsellor Tessa Blencowe to try and break down the walls she has built around herself.
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Loneliness after an accident - Brad’s near-death experience after a parachute malfunction isolated him from the culture he loved – which he explores with Ru Paul’s Drag Race finalist Kween Kong.
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Loneliness and migration - Sonali felt like she was stuck between two cultures ever since arriving in Australia after her family migrated from India. She meets mentor Dr Quah Ee Ling, an academic who has her own immigration experience.
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Loneliness and LGBTQIA+ - Curtis grew up in a regional country town, hiding his sexuality. His experience of loneliness was compounded by his simultaneous struggle with obesity. He meets with psychologist Dr James Van Cuylenburg.
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Loneliness and mental health - Diagnosed with ADHD in high school, Will realised that his struggle to connect with other was closely related to his mental health and isolating himself at a time when he needed to connect the most. He meets with mentor and psychologist Dr James Van Cuylenburg.
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Loneliness and finding our tribe - Gurnoor spent most of her teenage years seeking out people who were like her culturally, even if they didn’t connect on a deeper personal level. Now she’s ready to find her people and meets with Dr Quah Ee Ling, an academic and activist who helps to broaden her ideas around community and connection.
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Loneliness and autism - For Orin, the experience of autism (ASD) has meant that social connection has always been challenging. As a non-binary and polyamorous person, Orin always felt the need to mask and ‘play the game’ in order to fit in. Together with psychologist Dr James Van Cuylenburg, Orin explores how finding authentic expression has changed the way they interact with the world and with themselves.
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Loneliness and creativity - Singer songwriter Josie experienced the loneliness that can come with creating something personal mixed with a chronic illness. She meets with creative icon Kween Kong to explore the impact of isolation on creative expression.
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Loneliness and disability - Rhiannon developed a disability that had far reaching impacts on her life. She meets with counsellor Tessa Blenclowe to work out how to have difficult, honest conversations and reach out to people when you’ve drifted apart.
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SPECIAL EPISODE Loneliness in the TikTok generation - How does social media and our interactions with our phones impact our loneliness? Host Dr Ali Walker talks to Dr Daniel Surkalim about the positives and negatives of social media in our search for connection.
Additional research findings
• 56% of people feel lonely on one or more days during a typical week
• Victoria (58%), ACT (63%) and Tasmania (64%) have some of the highest levels of self-reported loneliness this year
• 75% of people say describing loneliness to other people is difficult to do
• 78% of domestic students and international students score moderate to high on the UCLA scale of loneliness*
• 58% of 16-24-year-olds and 70% of 25-34-year-olds support raising the minimum age of social media to 16 years old
• 25% of Australians are feeling lonely but taking no action to manage it – while among those who rate high on the UCLA loneliness scale, 46% aren’t managing their loneliness
• Those who self-report feeling lonely are more likely to opt behaviours which do not address their loneliness such as risk-taking, distracting themselves with TV or internet, while people who do not report feeling lonely believe they would be more likely to seek therapy and open up to their support networkr loneliness
About the research
Research commissioned by FiftyFive5 on behalf of Medibank. Research was conducted in July 2024, among a sample of (n=4,131) Australians.
*High-level loneliness is categorised as a person who scores 52 points+ on the UCLA scale