Social, Economic and Health
Impacts of WaveLength’s Work with
Loneliness and Isolation
Key findings from qualitative research
WaveLength’s work
• Challenging loneliness and social isolation
through media technology
• Radio, television, tablet computers
• Individuals and organisations
How does media technology affect...
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Loneliness?
Social isolation?
Physical and mental health?
Social outcomes?
Economic outcomes?
The research project
• 25 qualitative telephone interviews
 11 organisations
 14 individual beneficiaries
• 3 face-to-face group discussions
 16 people in total
• Literature review
Causes of loneliness and social isolation
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Relocation
Separation from family
Mental health problems
Physical health problems
Learning disabilities
Domestic abuse
Moving into independent living
Reducing loneliness
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Company and companionship
Distraction from negative thoughts
Reducing boredom
Connection to the outside world
With the radio, there’s always something different on,
there’s somebody just talking and it’s basically - it’s a
lifeline, it is. You’ve got company; you’re not here on your
own.
It’s like my friend, you know? When they’re talking there, I
can listen to them, so I did not really feel like lonely, you
know ... It doesn’t mean they’re really friend but, you know,
I feel like somebody’s talking next to me.
It may sound silly, but because I don’t get out and about all
that much, it brings someone else into my home, makes it
interesting ... I’ve found it opens the world to me.
Reducing social isolation
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Engaging with talkback shows
Prompting participation in local activities
Providing conversation points
Drawing people into communal spaces
Other screen-based group activities
Enabling hospitality
Supporting cultural integration
Keeping in touch with family and friends
It develops your relationships doesn’t it. Cos obviously we start
talking and you get to know people better and then you start
organising other things that you’re wanting to do ... Just even if
it’s just going to the shop together, do you know what I mean,
even if it’s just like “We’re going to the shop, are you coming
with us?”
Being able to do things that regular young people do, so to be
able to watch a DVD or to be able to have friends round and
watch TV. So it’s something that allows them to kind of broaden
their social circle really ... Rather than just have somebody
round to your new flat that you want to show off, and you’ve
got nothing in there apart from sitting on the settee and
chatting, you can put the TV on, you can have friends round to
watch, you can socialise with other people.
I think it’s very important because, you know, [TV] is often talked about
and people assume that everyone has a television. So if the [older] person
is going into a day centre or something like that, it’s a good source of
something to talk about ... I think if you’re sitting without a TV, when
you’re thrust into a day centre or that kind of scenario, if you don’t know
what on earth they’re talking about, then it just makes it a wee bit more
difficult to engage.
Just that sense of normality; the TV just brings that doesn’t it ... When
[children] go into school, and their friends know that you’re in a hostel, I
think the telly just integrates them a little bit again. At least they can talk
about normal things with their friends, when they’re watching telly the
same as they are ... [And] I think sometimes it can allow [adults in the
refuge] to build a bit of rapport with somebody else. If you can’t chat
about anything else, you can chat about what was on telly last night can’t
you.
Supporting emotional wellbeing and
mental health
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Relaxing, calming, soothing and comforting
Lifting low mood and depression
Empathy and identification
Information about mental health conditions
Online support groups
I feel a lot better since I got a TV because it’s something
to do and then I’m not thinking too much about my past
and stuff like that ... Television’s a different reality, so
you’re not thinking too much about things that can upset
you, you know, the past and things like that, and not
dwelling on things.
It has been a great help for me ... cos if you think about
things all the time too much you can make it worse, make
your health worse ... You start thinking of things and it
starts getting you more depressed.
Supporting physical wellbeing
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Healthy lifestyle information
Information about physical health conditions
Entertainment and diversion
Distraction from pain and discomfort
Motivation to get up and about
On the nights when you can't really get a lot of rest, cos I
also have arthritis, so a lot of the time you're in a lot of
pain, so you can't sleep when it's like that, so it's just
nice to have some sort of sound in the house.
Because you’re concentrating on something else, you’re
listening to something else, you’re not thinking about
the pain. I mean it’s there all the time, but you’ve got
some sort of like distraction, you’ve got something else
to think about, because you’re listening to what they’re
saying.
Economic and educational benefits
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Online jobsearch and job applications
Benefits applications
Property searches
Financial management
Learning, training, practicing skills
Career ideas and inspiration
Language and social skills development
Using technology safely
• Making technology safe for vulnerable
individuals
• Keeping a balance with other types of activity
Conclusions
Media technology can help to:
• Alleviate the negative subjective experience of
loneliness by providing company, companionship and
distraction
• Reduce objective social isolation by bringing people
into greater ‘real world’ contact with others
• Improve emotional wellbeing and mental health and
support better physical wellbeing
• Support employment, welfare and educational
activities
For more information...
wavelength.org.uk
york.ac.uk/spru