London is one of the world’s most diverse cities, with an estimated 9.74 million people speaking over 300 languages. It also regularly tops rankings of best cities in the world. With plenty of events and culture on offer, it should be easy to make meaningful connections, but this is not the case for many in the city. In fact, a significant number of people are experiencing loneliness.
Odd One Out launches this week and our mission is to make loneliness a thing of the past by promoting the virtues of solo exploration and forging new social connections through alternative experiences. Our readership is particularly affected by the crisis, with many renters and young women bearing the brunt. We’d like to make a change through our trip offerings, membership programme and upcoming app which helps people transition online connections to real, meaningful connections in person through our trips.
The Marmalade Trust is also seeking to address this problem through its Loneliness Awareness Week campaign, which started in 2017 to “reduce the stigma of loneliness and to empower everyone to talk more openly about it”.
This week Odd One Out attempts to do just that.
This week, we’ll be bringing you exciting stories from the fringes of London and the UK that focus on things people can do by themselves. We hope that these stories inspire our readers to experience events and activities that they may have been unfamiliar with or didn’t think they could attend alone and end up having a good time and meeting new people.
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only one who’s struggling with [loneliness],” says James Cunningham, 35, a senior fitness coach at Total Shape, London. “Everyone else has their lives together, and I’m just the odd one out.
“But deep down, I know that can’t be true. There must be others out there who feel like me, who are just as lost and alone in this vast, overwhelming city.
“I remember when I first moved to London,” he says. “I was so excited to start my new life. I had big dreams and ambitions, and I thought the city would be my playground. But the reality is, it’s hard to make connections here. People are busy, stressed, and often too caught up in their own lives to notice yours.”
The Reconceptualising Loneliness in London report, by Neighbourly Lab estimates that 700,000 of London’s residents are experiencing loneliness, with 35 per cent reporting feeling lonely most or some of the time – a full seven per cent higher than the rest of the UK.
“In big cities like London, it can be easy to feel isolated despite being surrounded by millions of people,” says Kim Samuel, author of ‘On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation’ (2022) and founder of The Belonging Forum, a research organisation dedicated to the study of social connectedness combating social isolation.
Kim points out that there are “clearly issues around social connection in the capital”. Those most affected are renters, young women, and those living with disabilities. Over half of the young women polled in the research by The Belonging Forum report feelings of loneliness while 14 per cent of those with disabilities report having no close friends. “The results show that there’s a lot of work to do to find practical solutions that deliver real change for people across the UK,” she says.
While research by social networking app Playsee shows that people in the UK are using social media to combat loneliness, this may not be enough.
For Kim, this rings true. “The impact of social media on loneliness is complicated to define,” she says. “On the one hand, social media can be the root cause of loneliness, but on the other, it can also be part of the solution.”
So, it would seem that the answer to loneliness lies in finding a way to leverage social networking platforms in a way that fosters genuine feelings of belonging.
This week, Odd One Out offers the solution. And readers, we always look forward to hearing about your experiences and opinions. Please contact us with any feedback or ideas.
Odd One Out takes the meeting point between solo adventure and building community seriously. This Loneliness Awareness Week, read more of our pieces about how to connect and explore London. If you like what you see, join our Membership Page and forge new connections outside of the ordinary.