This chapter brings an anthropological perspective to questions around loneliness, challenging common conceptions of loneliness as an issue and individual psychology.

By highlighting loneliness as a complex phenomenon shaped by social, cultural and biological factors, it reveals how feelings of loneliness arise not only from personal disconnection but also from culturally mediated expectations surrounding relationships and social belonging.

Amid rising concerns about a global ‘epidemic of loneliness’ – brought into sharp relief during the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly addressed in public health and policy debates – the chapter examines how the experience of loneliness is entangled with wider transformations in how we live, connect and find meaning. It delves into the interplay between our biological predisposition for connection and the social institutions, cultural norms and historical shifts that shape experiences of disconnection. Ultimately, it invites reflection on how emotional landscapes illuminate broader social transformations, positioning loneliness as a critical lens through which to understand the ambivalences of human sociality and the intersections of emotion, social change and well-being.

Author: Michael Stasik