Loneliness has a huge impact on our lives and 85% of young disabled people say they feel lonely. Can the next generation of robots really help us feel less lonely?<\/p>\n
We live in a world of convenience; a world in which technology has meant that we no longer need to leave our homes to shop, to eat, to be entertained. We chat by text and video and working from home is becoming an expected element of our jobs as opposed to a perk. We have a constant connection to each other that we can carry in our pockets. You would think loneliness would be a thing of the past and yet loneliness and isolation is becoming an increasing problem.<\/p>\n
Loneliness impacts our mental health and the links to anxiety and depression are clear, but it can also impact our physical health.\u00a0Dr Frank McAndrew, writing in Psychology Today highlights<\/a>; “[Loneliness] \u2026increases levels of stress hormones in the body and leads to poor sleep, a compromised immune system, and, in the elderly, cognitive decline.”\u00a0We are, after all, social creatures; socialisation and cooperation, interaction and strong social bonds have been key to our success as a species; we gravitate towards each other in times of crisis and although a break from other people is often welcomed, there are very few of us who crave true isolation.<\/p>\n Research carried out at the end of 2017 by the disability charity Scope, highlighted that amongst disabled people the issue of loneliness appears to be deeply troubling. Of the 1,004 disabled people surveyed 45% of working age disabled people are chronically lonely, saying they always or often feel lonely. Of the working age disabled people who have felt lonely in the past year:<\/p>\n On a typical day one in eight (13%) disabled people had under half an hour of interaction with someone else. 85% of young disabled adults (18-34) reported feeling lonely.<\/p>\nBut what if isolation is not a choice?<\/h4>\n
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