Statistics say Australia has been hit by a wave of social isolation, we must do something about it.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics General Social Survey reveal that, between 2010 and 2019, a wave of social isolation swept through Australia. As best as I can tell, this epidemic of alienation has received minimal coverage in the press.

In 2010, 62.5% of Australians participated in a social group. By 2019, it was 50%, equivalent to 1 in 5 people who were previously involved in a social group dropping out.

In 2010, 34.9% of Australians were involved in a community group. By 2019, it was 25%, equivalent to 2 in 7 people who had been previously involved dropping out.

More dramatically, in 2010 18.7% of people were involved in a civic or political group. By 2019, that number had halved, to 9.4%.

In 2010, 21% of Australians did not see someone socially outside their own household face to face at least once a week. By 2019, that figure had risen to 32.9%. If we regard this as a measure of social isolation, then between 2010 and 2019, social isolation increased by 59%.

What I find most worrying is that in 2010, only 4.3% of people said that there was no one outside their household they could confide in- we might reasonably consider this a measure of severe social isolation. By 2019, that number had increased 2.5x, to 11% of the population.

My initial assumption was that this must have something to do with the internet. I still think this is likely, but it’s worth mentioning two caveats

The first caveat is that when I looked at the European Social Survey, a similar dataset for Europe, and compared the number of people who said they “meet socially with friends, relatives or work colleagues” at least once a week, there was no change between 2010 and 2018 (figures for 2019 weren’t available). This suggests to me that there must be something specific to Australia happening- at least in the timing. [N.B. The European figures were a worrisome ~40% in both years.]

My second caveat is that if the change had been driven largely by the internet, we might expect forms of contact other than face-to-face contact to have risen to compensate. Instead, the portion of people who had no contact with anyone outside the household- even virtual contact- went from 7.8% to 13.9%, with most of the spike occurring between 2014 and 2019.

There has been no obvious accompanying rise in suicide, or fall in subjective well-being (as measured by the same social survey) during this period. We have to seriously consider the possibility that this change hasn’t been catastrophic because it’s largely voluntary- it represents a choice- perhaps enabled by the wider penetration of technologies like the internet

This does not mean it’s healthy though. Research is beginning to document the long-term risks of loneliness, from heart disease to mental illness to financial insecurity.

Nor are the implications only individual. A healthy democracy depends on participation, but the number of participators in political groups has collapsed- as above, by 50%.

While we’re on the topic of the general social survey, another statistic caught my eye. I don’t think it’s necessarily directly related, though it could be. Between 2014 and 2019 the percentage of people who said they wouldn’t be able to raise $2000 in an emergency jumped by 45%, from 13.4% to 19.5%.

What to do? The problem is not primarily driven by the attitudes of indviduals. Yet as a writer and not a policymaker or organizer I can only address directly that aspect of the problem which is tied to individual beliefs. There is, I think, a part of the problem which can be blamed on attitudes. People often view social life as something that happens organically- as an area in life in which you can afford to take the path of least resistance. People who take an active approach, seeking out new connections and organizing events, are sometimes derided as pushy networkers, or worse, as clingy. Yet if you take the path of least resistance there’s a good chance you will end up lonely.

Take action. Invite the people who live in your apartment block for a picnic. Start a university club. Go to a board games night. Friendships, connections, organizations and the like will only happen if we make them happen.

As for the broader issues, demand that your local, state, and federal governments do something about them. Support clubs by making funds and spaces available. Expand public space. Legislate a better work/life balance. Fund research into why this is happening. A world beyond the loneliness epidemic is possible, but we’ve got to build it.