Confronting Loneliness: The Promise of Intergenerational Relationships

Loneliness has become a defining public health concern of our time, with particularly profound implications for mental health and holistic well-being. No one is immune to experiencing loneliness, and people of all ages and stages of life can experience loneliness. However, older adults and young people are reported to be at particular risk (Office of the Surgeon General, Citation2023). The World Health Organization (Citation2023) recently launched a commission to foster social connection and mitigate the threat of loneliness, as well as its impacts on health across all age groups globally. In this column, we explore the relationship between loneliness and health, highlighting the potential of intergenerational initiatives as a pathway to holistic well-being. In societies where family structures are shifting and opportunities for contact between young people and older adults are limited or declining, deliberate efforts to bring generations together may offer an under-utilised but profoundly effective way to tackle loneliness and enrich lives across age groups.