NARRATOR:
You will hear two sociology students, Tamara and Dev, reviewing research for a presentation about loneliness.
NARRATOR:
First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26.
NARRATOR:
Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.
TAMARA:
Shall we work through the notes we've collected on loneliness, Dev?
DEV:
The research has really changed my view of the subject.
DEV:
I hadn't realized that levels of loneliness have risen continuously over roughly the past two decades.
TAMARA:
Nor had I, and the pattern seems to occur worldwide.
TAMARA:
I suppose it's one of the less welcome consequences of contemporary life.
DEV:
Did you reach any firm conclusions about why the increases happened?
TAMARA:
At first, I thought it was mostly a problem among older people, but younger adults are affected just as much.
DEV:
So greater life expectancy can't really account for it.
DEV:
And what about online social networks?
DEV:
Personally, they make me feel more connected, not cut off.
TAMARA:
Overall, their benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
TAMARA:
I think the physical layout of cities is a much stronger factor.
TAMARA:
In tall apartment buildings, residents may have very few chances to get to know the people living nearby.
DEV:
That makes sense to me.
TAMARA:
Another explanation could be that families are smaller now, and fewer people live within a large extended family.
DEV:
But at least in this country, that shift took place many years before the present rise in loneliness.
TAMARA:
Yes, the timing doesn't quite fit.
TAMARA:
A more convincing cause is that employment makes people relocate frequently, sometimes leaving them a long distance from relatives and established friends.
DEV:
I'd agree with that.
TAMARA:
Then there are the studies about physical health.
TAMARA:
Some reports say loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes each day.
DEV:
And I've seen it compared with the danger associated with obesity, though I don't think every claim is supported equally well.
TAMARA:
What about the Finnish study which found that lonely people had a cancer risk around 10% higher?
TAMARA:
Similar results have appeared in other research?
DEV:
Yes, that evidence is persuasive.
DEV:
I was more doubtful about dementia.
DEV:
Some studies report a connection, while others find none.
TAMARA:
So, we can't describe that evidence as dependable.
TAMARA:
Heart disease has also been studied extensively.
DEV:
It has, but the studies define loneliness in different ways and depend heavily on people's personal assessments, so drawing a clear conclusion is difficult.
DEV:
By contrast, the evidence that loneliness weakens immune function is convincing.
TAMARA:
The data behind that finding are robust.
DEV:
How did you respond to the evolutionary explanation for loneliness?
TAMARA:
The basic argument seems plausible.
TAMARA:
Loneliness may have developed as a signal pushing people back towards others, because cooperation within a group often improved the chances of survival.
DEV:
Perhaps, but there isn't enough proof for the claim that a particular network of brain cells controls social behavior by making isolation unpleasant.
TAMARA:
A small number of studies point in that direction, but they don't establish it conclusively.
TAMARA:
We need more investigation.
DEV:
And even if the theory is correct, it offers very little help with tackling loneliness in the present day.
NARRATOR:
Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30.
NARRATOR:
Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.
DEV:
Shall we turn now to the connection between loneliness and mental health?
TAMARA:
Yes, loneliness is clearly associated with depression, and governments in several countries have acknowledged that.
TAMARA:
But unlike depression, loneliness isn't recognized as a clinical condition.
DEV:
There is no formal diagnosis or proven medical treatment, and I can't see that changing in the future.
TAMARA:
For the opening of our presentation, perhaps we could use something from our own lives.
TAMARA:
I could describe how isolated I felt when I first arrived at university and was living away from home for the first time.
DEV:
That would work well.
DEV:
Nearly every student in the audience will recognize the situation, even if many would rather not admit they experienced it.
TAMARA:
We should also cover practical responses to loneliness, such as starting conversations with people you don't know.
DEV:
There are plenty of studies saying that brief exchanges with people like shop staff or bartenders leave us calmer and in a better mood.
TAMARA:
I'm not completely persuaded about the mood effect, but those exchanges surely help people feel that they belong to the community around them.
DEV:
Although approaching a stranger and beginning a conversation does require a particular kind of confidence.
TAMARA:
We ought to distinguish solitude from loneliness, too.
TAMARA:
Being physically alone isn't automatically the same as feeling lonely.
TAMARA:
What puzzles me is that some people dislike their own company, while others genuinely enjoy it.
DEV:
I know research suggests that some time alone can support mental well-being, and I can accept that.
DEV:
But I still don't understand how anyone takes pleasure in it.
DEV:
I certainly wouldn't choose to travel on holiday by myself.
NARRATOR:
That is the end of part three.
NARRATOR:
You now have thirty seconds to check your answers to part three.
