Angle 5

The Barriers to Connection

Interpersonal barriers to social connection and their implications in a digital age
Get the report

Angle 5

The Barriers to Connection

Interpersonal barriers to social connection and their implications in a digital age
Get the reportGet the insights
“Just as a strong economy bolsters all of us against losses, social connection is a renewable resource that helps us address the challenges we face as individuals and as a society.”
The Atlantic

About these insights

According to experts, the newest generation of humans are the loneliest yet, but this feeling spans across age groups affecting at least one-third of the population based on existing research. If this is the state of our contemporary society, we are forced then to examine why. Why, in such a short period of time, have we begun to experience a collective breakdown in social connectivity? What barriers to social connection currently exist? And how can we address them, as a matter of priority? This report aims to look into those barriers and determine whether they are driven by fear or function.


As we become aware of these barriers, there are implications for how we can design better systems and products to address them in our increasingly digitized world. By integrating certain measures and precautions, we can design for real connection rather than against it. This will require product teams, innovators, designers, and the people commissioning their work to answer, more thoughtfully, questions around how we can make safe digital spaces and keep them regulated. Ultimately, this comes down to transforming culture. The power is within our hands, and ideas, to use product design as a catalyst for shifting the paradigm and cultivating lasting change in our social landscape.

About this report

According to experts, the newest generation of humans are the loneliest yet, but this feeling spans across age groups affecting at least one-third of the population based on existing research. If this is the state of our contemporary society, we are forced then to examine why. Why, in such a short period of time, have we begun to experience a collective breakdown in social connectivity? What barriers to social connection currently exist? And how can we address them, as a matter of priority? This report aims to look into those barriers and determine whether they are driven by fear or function.


As we become aware of these barriers, there are implications for how we can design better systems and products to address them in our increasingly digitized world. By integrating certain measures and precautions, we can design for real connection rather than against it. This will require product teams, innovators, designers, and the people commissioning their work to answer, more thoughtfully, questions around how we can make safe digital spaces and keep them regulated. Ultimately, this comes down to transforming culture. The power is within our hands, and ideas, to use product design as a catalyst for shifting the paradigm and cultivating lasting change in our social landscape.

/// We are in a crisis of connection, with more people feeling disconnected

/// We are in a crisis of connection, with more people feeling disconnected

68. BBC 4 Radio, 2018

/// We are in a crisis of connection, with more people feeling disconnected

/// We are in a crisis of connection, with more people feeling disconnected

/// We are in a crisis of connection, with more people feeling disconnected

/// Certain barriers to social connection stem from perceived risk

/// Certain barriers to social connection stem from perceived risk

30. Hindustan Times, 2017

/// Certain barriers to social connection stem from perceived risk

/// Certain barriers to social connection stem from perceived risk

/// Certain barriers to social connection stem from perceived risk

/// Other functional barriers stem from evolving social structures

/// Other functional barriers stem from evolving social structures

58. “Attention Spans”, Microsoft Canada, 2015

/// Other functional barriers stem from evolving social structures

/// Other functional barriers stem from evolving social structures

/// Other functional barriers stem from evolving social structures

/// These barriers have implications for designing digital experiences

/// These barriers have implications for designing digital experiences

/// These barriers have implications for designing digital experiences

/// These barriers have implications for designing digital experiences

/// These barriers have implications for designing digital experiences

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