Thinking and Measuring Loneliness Across the Life course

Loneliness is currently the focus of considerable interest for policy makers, practitioners and academics in the UK and internationally. The translation of approaches to conceptualising and measuring loneliness from academic research to policy, practice and interventions to reduce loneliness across the lifecourse requires careful thought. The workshop will present findings from significant loneliness projects (e.g. BBC Loneliness Experiment, Loneliness Connects Us) and a conceptual review of loneliness research (1945-2018). We will then consider this body of knowledge in relation to experiences of performativity (e.g. ‘what gets measured gets done’) in attempts to measure youth work and the creative response in this field. This aims to be an informal discussion between academics and practitioners, with an emphasis in discussion on how approaches to measuring loneliness help or hinder community-based projects to reduce loneliness across the lifecourse.