QUARTZ: A compelling argument for why we shouldn’t be ashamed of feeling lonely

Description

The Loneliness Experiment, a national survey led by the BBC and the University of Manchester, Brunel University London, and the University of Exeter, gathered data from 55,000 people over 16 via a self-selecting online survey. It was available through a UK website and took about 40 minutes to complete.

The results of the survey suggest that people tend to be brutal toward themselves when they feel lonely. But researchers were surprised to find that the population as a whole does not stigmatize lonely types, according to Pamela Qualter, a professor of psychology at the University of Manchester, who designed the study.