A recent study by the University of Glasgow suggests that people living in rural Scotland feel less lonely and have better well-being compared to those in cities. The research looked at how lonely people felt and how much support they had from others in both urban and rural areas.

It found that while both city and country folk received similar levels of support, those in cities were more likely to feel lonely and have poorer well-being overall. Loneliness can have serious consequences, like making people less healthy, increasing their need for healthcare, and even leading to early death. In Scotland, one in five adults feels lonely, and in England, millions report feeling lonely often.

Recognizing this problem, the World Health Organization said in 2021 that loneliness should be a priority for public health.

High impact

The study also found that whether someone lived in the city or the country, feeling lonely was bad for their well-being. Having close friends and family around was linked to better well-being, which shows how important social connections are.

However, there was one difference between city and country networks that might explain why rural people feel less lonely. Both groups had similar-sized social networks, but rural folks interacted more with people of different ages. This suggests that diverse social connections could help combat loneliness, especially in rural areas.

“We believe this could be due to the smaller population of rural areas, limiting the social pool and encouraging rural adults to seek social relationships with people in different life stages than themselves,” the researchers explain.

“Our study shows that multiple dimensions of relationships are important to well-being, and that efforts to strengthen these relationships are particularly needed in urban areas. There’s something about these environments that makes people more vulnerable to loneliness.

“Our research suggests that programs and initiatives should focus on improving the exchange of support and building closeness in existing relationships, rather than relying on activities that are only aimed at building more social connections.”