Eradicating the Loneliness Pandemic

The Concordium is a nonprofit videoconferencing platform founded by Harvard University students, whose goal is to eradicate the "loneliness epidemic" among U.S. seniors, reports the Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences . It matches older adults to younger adults based on shared experiences and interests, and offers a simple, Web-based framework to effect regular dialogues between participants. "We try to emphasize that this is not a platform where the young adults are there to save the older adults from social isolation, because loneliness does really occur in a u-shaped curve where younger adults and older adults are the ones who are most affected by it," said Harvard's Anagha Kumar. "It is a bi-directional relationship; both people receive a companion who they can talk to." Kumar developed the Concordium with fellow student Prasidh Chhabria, based on their observation that social isolation tends to be worse among older adults because they lack access to technology or other means to stay connected. The program taps young adult volunteers from colleges and high schools, with outreach activities assisted by councils on aging, senior centers, nursing communities, and physician referrals. "We believe that intergenerational solutions are the best way to combat the loneliness epidemic we are seeing right now," Kumar said. "Seeing others get very interested in forming relationships with older adults and learning more about the issues that the aging population faces on a daily basis has been really inspiring."