In Eleanor Rigby, the Beatles asked: “All the lonely people – where do they all come from?” The answer to that question is complex, but loneliness is a widespread feeling among Australians. One in three people feel lonely, and one in six experience severe loneliness.
The findings of our research suggest that shared reading groups, where people from all walks of life meet regularly to read and discuss literature, can provide the kind of meaningful social connections necessary to alleviate loneliness.
