Virtual Presence: Loneliness, technology and the production of human (dis)connectedness

In this Research Topic, we explore the intersection of loneliness, technology, and human (dis)connectedness by examining the tools through which loneliness is addressed and ‘solved’. Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, loneliness had emerged as a significant challenge to health and wellbeing in contemporary society, prompting technologists and industry designers to produce ‘loneliness technologies’ – such as video chat solutions, social robots, smart speakers, and social media platforms – in attempts to tackle the problem. These technologies all aim to foster a sense of social connectedness, by producing a form of virtual presence. Simultaneously, however, these technologies are also cast in the role as causes of loneliness and disconnectedness – because they afford only secondary or ‘artificial’ togetherness and thus suppress ‘real’ togetherness. To capitalize on these tensions, this Research Topic contends that loneliness technologies can serve as a lens for understanding the complicated relationships between loneliness, technology, and human (dis)connectedness. The Research Topic of Virtual Presence brings together novel empirical and theoretical work on loneliness technologies to consider the complicated relationships between loneliness, technology, and human (dis)connectedness. Against the background of different welfare systems and institutions all concerned with the health implications of loneliness, we will examine loneliness technologies in development and use a...