You can have hundreds of followers, dozens of unread messages and conversations happening across multiple apps, yet still feel as though you have no one to talk to when life gets difficult.

You can spend hours scrolling through other people's lives and still feel disconnected from your own. In a world where reaching someone takes seconds, loneliness has become a surprisingly familiar experience.

Technology has changed how we maintain friendships, meet new people and share our experiences.

Yet constant communication does not always translate into emotional closeness. A like cannot always replace a meaningful conversation, and a video call cannot always provide the comfort of being physically present with someone.

Understanding this contradiction requires looking beyond screen time and social media habits. Loneliness is also connected to how we build relationships, experience belonging and find meaning in our communities. These seven books explore why modern life can leave us feeling disconnected, even when we are more digitally connected than ever.

In Alone Together, sociologist Sherry Turkle explores how technology changes our relationships and our expectations of companionship. We can communicate constantly through messages and social media while avoiding the deeper conversations that help us understand one another.

The book asks an important question: are our digital connections making our relationships more meaningful, or simply making us feel less alone for a moment?

Noreena Hertz examines how technology, changing workplaces and weakening community ties contribute to isolation.

The Lonely Century argues that loneliness is not simply an individual problem; it is also shaped by the way modern societies are organised.

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