YP Comment: The key to loneliness struggle

EVEN though there is far greater awareness '“ locally, regionally and nationally '“ about loneliness thanks to this newspaper's award-winning campaign, it's wrong to assume that it is just the elderly who live in isolation. More than nine million people '“ one fifth of the population '“ report that they are always, or often, lonely as younger generations begin to realise that Twitter followers, or social media navel-gazing, are no substitute for real friends.

More than nine million people – one fifth of the population – report that they are always, or often, lonely as younger generations begin to realise that Twitter followers, or social media navel-gazing, are no substitute for real friends.

This issue is given added credence by a new report by the Co-op on the decline of neighbourliness. Though it is gratifying to know that households in Sheffield are the most hospitable, there are other areas where people are barely on nodding terms with those living in neighbouring properties. Why is this and can anything be done?

It’s worth remembering, for example, that the elderly can be a God-send when it comes to taking in parcels delivered during the day. Most are only too happy to do so – the knock on the door might be their only conversation of the day – while all they expect in return is a word of ‘thanks’ and assurance that someone will keep an eye on them. It’s not too much to ask, is it?

Yorkshire prides itself on its hospitality. The challenge now is making the county the most neighbourly in the land.

Oldest members of society struggling to access basic services