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A lonely society? Loneliness and liquid modernity in Australia
Citation
Franklin, A, A lonely society? Loneliness and liquid modernity in Australia, Australian Journal of Social Issues, 47, (1) pp. 11-28. ISSN 0157-6321 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2012 Australian Social Policy Association
Official URL: http://www.aspa.org.au/publications/ajsi.html
DOI: doi:10.1002/j.1839-4655.2012.tb00232.x
Abstract
This paper reviews recent studies of loneliness in order to assess whether it is
becoming endemic in Australian society. It develops the idea that loneliness
is an embedded social structural feature of contemporary Australian life likely
to affect people through the life course, creating psychological stress, ill
health and social dysfunction. Zygmunt Bauman's writing on liquid modernity
is used to trace a sequence of less binding social bonds from the community,
the workplace, intimate relationships, friendship and kinship that may
account for a more generalised distribution of loneliness. Empirical evidence
from recent national surveys in Australia demonstrates how Bauman's gloomy
prognosis is particularly applicable in Australia. The paper argues that it has
been invisible as a social issue until recently, but that its scope and scale
have grown such that robust policy initiatives are now warranted. It argues
that Australia's gendered pattern of loneliness indicates that Bauman's broad
theory of liquid modernity must be mediated by several factors relating to
national cultures, historic patterns of family formation t and the gender role
distribution in the creation and maintenance of social bonds.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | loneliness, social isolation, liquid modernity, Australia, Zygmunt Bauman, gender |
Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Sociology |
Research Field: | Social theory |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Other culture and society |
Objective Field: | Other culture and society not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Franklin, A (Professor Adrian Franklin) |
ID Code: | 83316 |
Year Published: | 2012 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 11 |
Deposited By: | Sociology and Social Work |
Deposited On: | 2013-03-08 |
Last Modified: | 2016-11-03 |
Downloads: | 12 View Download Statistics |
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