'If I could issue a reading list to 10 Downing Street, I'd put this book near the top.' Guardian
'Destined to be a classic' Nouriel Roubini
'Fascinating' Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
'A hopeful book that couldn't be more important or timely' Philippa Perry
'Timely and important' Charlie Brooker
A hopeful and empowering vision for how to reconnect with each other and heal our divides.
Even before a global pandemic introduced us to terms like social distancing, loneliness was already becoming the defining condition of the twenty-first century.
But it's also one we have the power to reverse. Combining a decade of research with first-hand reporting, Noreena Hertz takes us from a 'how to communicate in real life' class for smartphone-addicted university students to bouncy castles at Belgian far-right gatherings, from 'renting a friend' and paying for cuddles in the U.S. to nursing home residents knitting bonnets for their robot caregivers in Japan.
Packed with bold solutions that we can apply at home, at work and in our neighbourhoods, and with a clear vision for what businesses and governments must do, she explores how our increasing dependence on technology, radical changes to the workplace and decades of policies that have placed self-interest above the collective good, are making us more isolated than ever before.
Noreena Hertz helps us to understand why this is the lonely century, how we got here and what each of us can do to help reduce loneliness for ourselves and our communities.
A radical call to arms and a bold new vision of how we must act, fast, to reconnect society at individual, government and business level, from a global economist hailed by the Observer as 'one of the world's leading thinkers'.
Professor Noreena Hertz has travelled the world to explore the loneliness epidemic first hand: 'renting a friend' in Japan, visiting co-habitation spaces in Israel and trying a week experienced entirely online. From the spread of social media and the rise of AI to the architecture of our cities and the growing elderly population, loneliness is a global issue that is affecting our health and financial security.
She takes on a world increasingly dominated by big business and consumerism, and challenges us all - and most importantly, our politicians, business leaders and economists - to take urgent action to ensure we survive and thrive in the centuries to come. The Lonely Century is a bold, game-changing book that has the power to change how we behave.
A renowned economist examines why our hyperconnected world feels so isolating and how we can solve the crisis of loneliness. The takeaways are as relevant to our families and friendships as they are to building bridges in our neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces.
