Research: People are lonely
A recent report by the Canberra -based research centre, the Australia Institute , gives us a rare insight into loneliness , and suggests it is increasing despite the burgeoning use of social media, which, although it facilitates much communication, might not be creating as much human connection as one might have thought. The report, All the lonely people , was written by the institute's research director, David Baker, today's guest in The Zone. The full transcript of our interview and a short video are at theage.com.au/opinion/the-zone. ''The incidence of loneliness is growing because people come in and out of it. In any given year, one in 10 of us is experiencing loneliness. But because we move out of it and other people come in, over the last 10 years three out of 10 of us have experienced loneliness. That transition rate is increasing, so more people are moving into loneliness.'' Baker drew heavily on data collected over 10 years by a government-fun