On Monday, 17 February 2025, AGF held an expert discussion on “Loneliness as a phenomenon within and outside of families. Political strategies against loneliness as an element of strengthening democracy”. The aim was to shed light on the current discussion and to get to discuss the perspectives of the member associations.
Dr. Pauline Kleinschlömer and Dr. Sabine Diabaté from the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) had been invited as external speakers. They presented empirical findings from the FReDA study (Family Research and Demographic Analysis) on loneliness and provided insights into the social and political implications of this phenomenon. It became clear that, unlike assumed before the COVID 19 pandemic, loneliness affects not only older people but increasingly younger people as well. During the pandemic, the proportion of people feeling lonely has risen sharply. The FReDA data show that after the pandemic measures were lifted, the figures haven’t returned to their initial levels and, among other things, young people are showing significantly higher levels of loneliness than before COVID.
It is particularly single parents, separated fathers living alone and people without a partner in their household that are at increased risk of loneliness. In addition to individual consequences such as psychological and physical stress, loneliness can also foster anti-democratic tendencies.
Studies show that loneliness can weaken trust in democratic institutions and increase susceptibility to populist or extremist ideologies. This underlines the need for targeted political strategies to prevent loneliness and strengthen social cohesion.
Following the input, the AGF organisations discussed possible political approaches with the speakers. The internal discussion focused on:
- the role of families and family associations in preventing and combating loneliness,
- measures to promote social participation and support for vulnerable groups,
- as well as the connection between loneliness and anti-democratic attitudes.
The AGF thank Dr. Pauline Kleinschlömer and Dr. Sabine Diabaté for their interesting contributions and constructive exchange. The findings will be incorporated into the further work of the family organisations.