After a seven-year break, we addressed the issue of loneliness in our study. The COVID-19 pandemic, increasing digitalization, and the growing popularity of social media have not been conducive to maintaining direct interpersonal relationships. The share of respondents who experience loneliness very often or always, even despite the presence of other people nearby, has doubled since 2017 from 4% to 8% currently. We recorded a similar share of people experiencing loneliness very often or permanently in 2005. At that time, loneliness was generally more common – only 34% did not feel it at all, compared to 52% currently and 58% in 2017.

Do you ever find yourself in situations when, despite being surrounded by other people, you still feel lonely?

Factors that contribute to experiencing loneliness include young age (up to 34 years old), living in a large city, being single, and dissatisfaction with one's financial situation. Political views also proved to be important in this context. As the analyses show, people with centrist, right-wing, and unspecified political views are less likely to feel lonely than those identifying with the left.