The crisis of loneliness is a crisis of belonging

In this guest post, Kim Samuel of the Belonging Forum on how we can solve our problem of disconnection from one another. PLUS details of Belonging and Community debates at the Battle of Ideas.

The Battle of Ideas festival at Church House in Westminster is just two days away. With scores of debates, hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees, it is the UK’s premier festival of ideas. Tickets are still available, but Saturday and Weekend tickets are very close to selling out. Our paid Substack subscribers can enjoy discount prices, too, by paying the Associate rate.

This year’s festival features a special strand of debates on Belonging and Community. Here, Kim Samuel, founder of the Belonging Forum, points to the paradox of loneliness in a hyper-connected world and looks to solutions that start from the recognition that we need to feel we belong in order to reconnect with each other. Further down, find out more about our belonging and community debates this weekend.

---

The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency. The US surgeon general calls it an epidemic. And in recognition of the problem's seriousness, the previous UK government created a ministerial position. 

Most ordinary people on the street can see it, too: loneliness is a global crisis. It’s a clear and present danger to our mental, physical and collective health. But why have the powerful organisations listed above not been able to move the dial? One answer is that loneliness is part of a much bigger issue.

Loneliness, while painful, is a symptom of something more profound: our disconnection from people, places, power and purpose.

In our hyper-connected world, where technology supposedly allows us to reach anyone, anywhere, at any time, disconnection should, in theory, be a thing of the past. Instead, as our screens light up with notifications, many of us feel more distant from others than ever.

Today’s crisis goes beyond loneliness; it’s about belonging - or rather, the critical deficit of it. Social isolation is a much broader problem that encompasses a lack of agency, choice and voice for individuals and groups.

In this post, I will first explore the four elements of belonging before moving into how to fix social disconnection, as well as addressing why free speech is vital to helping create and foster belonging in the UK today.

People: rebuilding human connection 

Belonging depends on connection. Yet genuine connection has become rare. Society today tends to overlook the importance of real, meaningful relationships, opting instead for transactional interactions through screens or shallow networks of acquaintances. If we want to address this issue, we must reinvest in local communities. 

Simple initiatives - like community events, mentoring schemes, and local clubs - can create spaces where people can gather, share stories, and support one another. It’s a fundamental truth: if you bring people together, you build relationships. And as our Belonging Forum research shows (we polled 10,000 just under a year ago), certain groups, particularly younger women, renters, and older people are feeling this disconnection more acutely than others. Specific efforts must be made to reach these groups, fostering environments where they feel welcomed, valued, and seen. 

Place: rooting ourselves in our surroundings 

Loneliness is also rooted in a lack of connection to place. Our sense of belonging is intrinsically tied to the environments we live in. But as cities grow more crowded, fast-paced, and transient, they can feel alienating. Our research found that Londoners and residents in cities like Glasgow, Liverpool and Brighton reported feeling the least sense of belonging. 

Cities and our built environment generally need to become places where social interactions can happen naturally. Accessible public spaces like parks, libraries, and community centres are essential for fostering casual, unforced moments of human connection. For renters, often a transient group, their lack of rootedness exacerbates this feeling of not belonging. We need to develop specific policies and local initiatives to help this growing demographic feel more connected to the places they live. 

Power: ensuring participation and empowerment 

Belonging is also about having a say in shaping the world around us. In our society, many people feel voiceless, disengaged from local and national politics, and unable to influence the decisions that impact their daily lives. This sense of powerlessness is especially acute among young people and non-English speakers. 

If we want to create communities where people feel they belong, we must open up decision-making spaces. Local councils, neighbourhood forums, and citizen assemblies need to be more accessible, encouraging broader participation. Democracy doesn’t just happen once every few years at the ballot box - it happens on an ongoing basis, when people are invited to shape their communities. 

Purpose: finding meaning and drive in life  

Finally, purpose. Having a role to play in something larger than ourselves gives meaning to our lives. Whether through work, creative pursuits, or volunteering, people need to feel they are contributing. Yet, for too many, especially in today’s unstable job market, finding a sense of purpose can be elusive. Life today is busy, and many of us don’t have time for hobbies.  

Policies that promote job training, education, and skill-sharing are key to addressing this. Communities where people have the opportunity to contribute their talents toward a shared goal will be stronger and more resilient. And we need healthy working practices so we can all pursue a passion.  

Building a culture of belonging 

So, what can we do to fix this fractured world?  

I believe the answer is practical, actionable solutions that bring people together in meaningful ways. We’ve researched initiatives such as ‘chatty checkouts’ in supermarkets - where customer service encourages social interaction - and banking hubs to help revive high streets, community gardens to help renters feel rooted, and intergenerational friendship events to build lasting bonds. These may seem small, but they add up to a bigger cultural shift - especially at a time when AI and automation are upending our economies and our traditional modes of social interaction.  Little things matter.

Critically, too, these kinds of ideas don’t necessarily require sweeping government intervention to make a change - businesses, local communities, and even families can start building belonging now. But we must prioritise belonging at every level of society if we are to heal our fractured communities. 

At the Belonging Forum, we are committed to convening charities, campaigners, businesses, and ordinary citizens in this effort. We may not have all the answers yet, but we know one thing for sure: the crisis of loneliness is actually a crisis of belonging, and it’s a crisis we can no longer afford to ignore. 

Belonging, free speech and identity

The Academy of Ideas’ work often focuses on identity politics and free speech - two important issues in our age. I’ve been thinking about how we build belonging and simultaneously support values like free speech in an era of so much rapid change.

Culture and tradition can be foundations for our experience of belonging. Many of us find belonging through what’s familiar: family, community, food, music, shared values, longstanding rituals, beloved places. So - as new technologies shift how we interact with one another; as culture evolves through migration and new forms of media; as economic changes alter our neighbourhoods - it’s understandable that many people feel the ground shifting under their feet.

Still, modern life offers not just challenges but also opportunities for expanding and enriching belonging.   

Cities that embrace migration often have higher levels of community engagement and social cohesion, especially if they have well-resourced integration programmes - such as language courses, cultural exchange initiatives, and local participation in decision-making. In our Belonging Barometer research, we found that London, the metropolis with the UK’s highest concentration of immigrants, also shows the highest reported satisfaction with community belonging (around +7 per cent compared to negative figures in other regions).

We know that new technologies can enable people of different backgrounds and geographies to connect and collaborate as never before. If we can align the governance of these technologies with values of trust and cooperation rather than solely the advancement of the profit motive, we can leverage change to support our shared belonging.

We’re living in an age of increasing inequality - in terms of both rights and income - as well as conflicts and environmental degradation. Now, more than ever, we need to prioritise social solidarity.

Some of this work is political and economic. Investments in high-quality schools, community centres, public transit, arts, and social and health services are investment in our shared belonging. Much of the work is cultural, too. Belonging is about being able to show up as our authentic selves. It’s about not having wear masks. 

In a culture of belonging, people are free to express themselves in truth, without fearing judgment. In a culture of belonging, there’s no need for censorship because there’s a shared understanding of the importance of recognition and respect. Our societies are always evolving. Culture is always evolving. It’s up to us to ensure that they evolve in the direction of belonging.

Kim Samuel is founder of the Belonging Forum, an educator and activist. She is author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation.

---

BELONGING AND COMMUNITY DEBATES
BATTLE OF IDEAS FESTIVAL

A sense of place: how to create community in a fractured world
Sunday 20 October, 11:00—12:30

Have we stopped identifying with the places in which we live, whether that be our local town or village, or with the country itself and its values? Do social media and online algorithms result in communities based on interests and ideologies? Do we lack the institutions – such as churches, trades unions, pubs and social clubs – that, in the past, played a big role in socialising the young and bringing people together? How can we avoid community being replaced by communities, to view ourselves and others as equal citizens rather than as members of cultural tribes or isolated individuals? Or should we be more optimistic about the forging of new solidarities as communities change and join together in new ways?

Dave Clements
writer and policy advisor; contributing co-editor, The Future of Community

William Clouston
party leader, Social Democratic Party

Abbot Christopher Jamison
Abbot President, English Benedictine Congregation; author, Finding the Language of Grace: rediscovering transcendence

Michael Merrick
director of schools, Diocese of Lancaster; former teacher; education and social commentator

Kim Samuel
founder, the Belonging Forum; author, On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation; educator; activist

—

Reclaim the high street
Sunday 20 October, 13:45—15:15

The demise of the high street means fewer and fewer physical spots where, during the mundane daily tasks we all must do, there is the potential for chance meetings and physical interaction to happen. Older people, who often rely on bank and postal services and the interactions involved in using them, are often the first to notice. But both older and younger people – the latter, in particular, still feeling the effects of the pandemic – are also noticing the demise of places to socialise. What is to be done? Can measures that involve local communities be put in place to stop the rise of boarded-up high streets and help them reinvigorate their own streets and locales?

Sam Bidwell
director, Next Generation Centre, Adam Smith Insitute

Neil Davenport
cultural critic; head of faculty of social sciences, JFS Sixth Form Centre

Paul Finch OBE
programme director, World Architecture Festival

Lord Moylan
Conservative peer; chair, Lords Built Environment Select Committee

Deb Nagan
director, Deb Nagan Studio

—

Housing: does renting make us rootless?
Sunday 20 October, 15:45—17:00

Fewer people now own their own homes; more people now live in less secure, privately rented housing. The average age of first-time buyers has risen to 33 years old – its highest-ever point. How can short-term renters become more settled and feel they belong within communities? How can people settle down and forge relationships in communities in the midst of such flux? Or is there a danger of romanticising permanence at the expense of a more dynamic and optimistic view of changes in one’s housing status? What is the connection between housing and cohesive community that the government needs to keep front of mind as it builds new housing?

Alex Cameron
editorial designer; design and cultural critic

Liam Halligan
columnist, Sunday Telegraph; author, Home Truths: the UK's chronic housing shortage

Sheila Lewis
retired consultant; housing association chair

James Yucel
head of external affairs, PricedOut

—

Boomers vs Zoomers: bridging the generational divide
Sunday 20 October, 17:15—18:30

In popular debate. negative stereotypes abound as the older and younger generations are pitted against each other. To many, Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) are regarded as the luckiest generation in history. They benefited from economic prosperity, secure homeownership, and never had to fight in a war. Zoomers (born roughly 1997 to 2012) are sometimes perceived to be narcissistic, entitled, lazy and listless. Many argue they have little desire to work, are obsessed with their mental health, spend all of their time online and have no sense of duty or obligation to society. Is there any truth to such stereotypes, and are they helpful? How real is this generational divide, and what should we do to bridge it?

Felice Basbøll
project assistant, Ideas Matter; student, Trinity College Dublin

Jennie Bristow
reader in sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University; author, The Corona Generation: coming of age in a crisis and Growing up in Lockdown

Dr Eliza Filby
historian of generations and contemporary values; author, Inheritocracy: Why we Should Talk about the Bank of Mum and Dad

Natalie Turner
deputy director of localities, Centre for Ageing Better