On the kick-off of the action week "Together out of Loneliness", on 26 May 2025 the Competence Network Loneliness (KNE), in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), held the fourth specialist conference on the same topic.
At the centre of the interdisciplinary event were the questions: which psychological, social and societal dimensions does loneliness have – and which joint strategies can be developed to overcome it? The conference brought together numerous experts from science and practice as well as political decision-makers, and offered space for specialist impulses, addressing political measures and personal perspectives.
At the beginning, central results of the qualitative study "Lonely among Many" (2024) were presented. The study deals with the subjective experience of lonely people and clarifies the varied manifestations and individual backgrounds of loneliness. The focus was both on analysis of underlying conditions of emergence and on possible coping strategies.
Another focus of the conference was a panel discussion presenting selected aspects of the BMFSFJ's loneliness strategy and debating existing and future public support and its accessibility. In particular it was emphasised that people who provide private CARE work – e.g. caring for children or supporting relatives in need of care – show an increased risk of loneliness under certain structural and social conditions.
Supplementary, it was emphasised that loneliness represents a subjective experience that stands in a complex interplay with individual and societal framework conditions. This is also reflected in the often-cited definition by Peplau (1981): "Loneliness is the unpleasant experience that arises when a person's social network of relationships is inadequate in some important way – either quantitatively or qualitatively."
Prof. Dr. Tajana Grießmann-Gehrt deals with the phenomenon of loneliness in the tension between digital media use. She also addresses the question of how digital forms of communication influence social experience and possibly contribute to or counteract loneliness. Another focus of her work lies on the experience of loneliness within minority groups and the specific challenges they face.
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