Loneliness Across Time and Space

The places where people live and spend their time seem to matter for loneliness, but previous research provides mixed evidence for this link.

The core argument of LOTIS is that to understand why, when, and for whom places contribute to loneliness, the current perspective on the link between place and loneliness needs to be fundamentally shifted towards a dynamic view.

I propose a novel theoretical framework linking a person’s momentary loneliness to how the place is subjectively perceived by this person at a given time, which in turn is influenced by the objective, observable characteristics of this place, characteristics of the person, and individual mobility patterns, i.e., how often, for how long, and in what order places are visited.

To test this framework, first, a new dimensional taxonomy that allows describing perceived character-istics of places systematically and comprehensively is developed and applied to the geographically diverse city of Bochum, Germany, using a citizen science approach.

Second, the short-term and long-term reciprocal dynamics of place, mobility, and loneliness will be examined in a longitudinal meas-urement burst study where participants track their current location using GPS and report their percep-tions of their current locations and their momentary loneliness four times over a period of three years.

Third, the causal processes that link places to loneliness will be tested using laboratory experiments and a natural field experiment.

LOTIS has the potential to significantly change how the associations among places, mobility, and lone-liness are conceptualized and studied by (a) moving from a static to a dynamic perspective, (b) incor-porating both objective and perceived characteristics of places, and (c) considering individual mobility patterns.

In addition, the insights gained in LOTIS can be used to develop evidence-based interven-tions and public policy measures against loneliness.