The world is more connected than ever and communities are under pressure
Loneliness is affecting people across generations and regions, while urbanisation, demographic change, economic inequality and digital transformation are changing how people meet, participate and build relationships.
FOSTER! NEWS | COMMUNITY
18 SEPTEMBER 2026
ONE IN SIX PEOPLE REPORTS LONELINESS
The World Health Organization estimates that around 1 in 6 people worldwide, or 15.8%, report experiencing loneliness.
The figure is not concentrated in one part of the world. Loneliness affects people across regions and age groups, although younger people report particularly high levels. According to the WHO, around 21% of adolescents say they experience loneliness. The rate is also substantially higher in low-income countries, at approximately 24.3%, compared with 11% in high-income countries.
The figures have pushed social connection higher on the international policy agenda.
In 2025, the WHO Commission on Social Connection described loneliness and social isolation as widespread problems with consequences for health, wellbeing and society.
This is no longer being treated simply as an individual problem.
It is becoming a question about how societies function.
SOCIAL CONNECTION HAS BECOME A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE
The WHO says strong social connections are important for physical and mental health, quality of life and longevity.
Its commission found that social isolation and loneliness are associated with serious health consequences and called for governments and other sectors to treat social connection as a public-health priority.
The organisation has also identified wider consequences for education, economic resilience and communities.
That changes the scale of the discussion.
If millions of people are experiencing weak or insufficient social connections, the issue extends beyond individual wellbeing.
It affects workplaces, schools, families, neighbourhoods and public institutions.
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AMONG THE MOST AFFECTED
The highest reported levels of loneliness are found among younger people.
The WHO estimates that approximately 21% of adolescents experience loneliness. The organisation also identifies young adults as another group with comparatively high rates.
The trend is emerging at the same time that young people are communicating through more digital channels than previous generations.
Social media, messaging platforms, online gaming and video calls have made communication faster and more accessible.
But digital communication does not automatically produce meaningful social connection.
The WHO identifies a range of factors associated with loneliness and social isolation, including major life changes, living alone, unemployment, low income, marginalisation and relationship breakdown.
There is therefore no single explanation.
THE DIGITAL WORLD HAS CHANGED HOW COMMUNITIES FORM
Online platforms have created communities that would have been difficult or impossible to build in previous generations.
People can find others who share their interests, language, profession, beliefs, hobbies or experiences regardless of geographical distance.
For people living in isolated areas or belonging to minority groups, those connections can be particularly significant.
But digital networks can also produce very different forms of participation.
A person can follow thousands of people without knowing anyone nearby.
They can participate in online discussions while having little involvement in their local community.
The result is a new social environment in which digital connectivity and local connection do not necessarily move together.
CITIES ARE FULL OF PEOPLE BUT NOT ALWAYS FULL OF COMMUNITY
Urbanisation has transformed the way billions of people live.
Cities concentrate employment, education, culture, transport and services.
They also create enormous opportunities for social interaction.
But density alone does not create community.
A person can live in a building containing hundreds of residents without knowing the people living on the same floor.
This has made public spaces increasingly important.
Parks, libraries, sports facilities, cultural centres, community halls, religious institutions and local associations can provide places where repeated encounters become possible.
The WHO Commission has specifically identified community-level interventions and policy measures as part of the response to social disconnection.
OLDER POPULATIONS FACE A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE
Ageing societies are creating another major test.
Retirement can reduce daily contact with colleagues.
Bereavement can remove long-term relationships.
Mobility problems can make participation more difficult.
Living alone can reduce opportunities for everyday interaction.
The WHO estimates that older people also experience significant levels of loneliness, although younger groups generally report higher rates.
For ageing populations, community infrastructure can therefore become part of the social support system.
Accessible transport, local services, social activities and places for intergenerational interaction can determine whether older people remain connected to everyday life.
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY CAN BECOME SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Connection is also affected by resources.
The WHO identifies low levels of education and income among factors associated with loneliness and social isolation.
Participation often has a cost.
Transport costs money.
Sports clubs may charge fees.
Cultural activities may require tickets.
Restaurants and cafés are commercial spaces.
Even reaching another part of a city can become difficult when public transport is expensive or unreliable.
This means that creating stronger communities is not simply about telling people to participate.
The question is whether participation is accessible.
VOLUNTEERING CREATES ANOTHER FORM OF CONNECTION
Community organisations provide one of the clearest mechanisms for turning social connection into participation.
Volunteers work in schools, charities, sports clubs, religious organisations, environmental groups, emergency response networks and local associations.
The United Nations Volunteers programme has highlighted volunteerism as an important component of sustainable development and called for greater recognition of the contribution volunteers make to societies.
Volunteering also changes the relationship between the individual and the community.
People are not simply receiving services.
They are helping provide them.
That distinction matters.
THE SCHOOL IS ALSO A COMMUNITY
Schools are usually discussed in terms of academic performance.
But they are also among the most important social institutions in a community.
They bring together children, teachers, parents and families.
They create repeated relationships.
They provide spaces for sport, culture, learning and collective activities.
The same applies to universities.
As education becomes increasingly digital, institutions are having to preserve the human relationships that technology cannot replace.
The OECD's 2026 Digital Education Outlook makes a similar point in the context of artificial intelligence, arguing that technology should enrich learning without replacing the human relationships at the heart of education.
The principle extends beyond classrooms.
Technology can facilitate participation.
It cannot automatically create belonging.
RELIGIOUS AND CIVIC ORGANISATIONS STILL MATTER
Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and other religious communities remain important social spaces for millions of people.
So do neighbourhood associations, political organisations, cultural groups, charities and sports clubs.
Their importance is not necessarily ideological.
It is structural.
They provide regular meetings, shared activities, volunteering opportunities and relationships that can continue over many years.
In an increasingly mobile society, these organisations can create continuity.
THE COMMUNITY CAN ALSO BE A RESPONSE TO CRISIS
Natural disasters, wars, economic shocks and public emergencies often expose the strength or weakness of local networks.
When formal systems are overwhelmed, neighbours may become the first people able to provide assistance.
They can share information.
Check on older residents.
Organise food.
Provide transport.
Help families find temporary accommodation.
Support children.
The existence of these networks cannot be created overnight.
They are usually built during ordinary periods, long before a crisis arrives.
WHAT GOVERNMENTS ARE BEGINNING TO MEASURE
The WHO has called for better data on loneliness, social isolation and social connection.
That matters because governments cannot effectively address a problem they cannot measure.
The organisation's commission has recommended stronger monitoring and evaluation alongside community interventions and policies designed to strengthen social connection.
This represents a significant change in the way the issue is understood.
For decades, governments routinely measured unemployment, inflation, education, poverty and population growth.
Social connection is increasingly entering the same policy conversation.
THE NEXT BATTLE IS OVER PARTICIPATION
The challenge facing communities is not simply getting people to communicate.
It is creating opportunities for meaningful participation.
That can mean a child joining a sports club.
A student becoming involved in a university organisation.
A parent participating in a school community.
An older person attending a local activity.
A neighbour volunteering.
A resident joining a community project.
These actions are small individually.
At scale, they can change how a society functions.
THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY IS CHANGING
The traditional idea of community was largely geographical.
People belonged to a street, village, town or neighbourhood.
Today, communities can be simultaneously local and global.
A person may live in Buenos Aires, work for an international company, participate in an online community based in London and maintain family relationships across several countries.
The old boundaries have weakened.
The need for belonging has not.
FOSTER! ANALYSES
The data reveal a clear tension.
The world has more communication technology than at any previous point in history, yet the WHO estimates that one in six people worldwide experience loneliness.
That does not mean technology is the cause.
It means connectivity and social connection are not the same thing.
The challenge for governments, cities, schools, businesses and community organisations is increasingly practical: creating environments where people can meet, participate, contribute and build relationships.
That requires more than digital platforms.
It requires accessible public spaces, functioning local institutions, volunteering opportunities, inclusive education, community organisations and policies that reduce barriers to participation.
The future of community will not be determined by whether society becomes more digital.
It will be determined by whether people still have places where they can belong.
In a world capable of connecting billions of people instantly, the defining question may be much simpler: who is still there when the screen goes dark?
FOSTER! NEWS
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