Online Isolation: Are digital platforms making us lonely?

In our modern society, we have unparalleled access to other like-minded people and limitless potential for social connection through technological platforms. Yet there is widespread concern that our society is becoming more fragmented and lonely, with time spent on social media making us feel depressed. Dating apps now play a huge role in looking for love, but are they hampering the making of genuine connections?

To discuss this, my guest for this episode is Dr Carolina Bandinelli. Carolina is an Associate Professor in Media and Creative Industries at the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies at the University of Warwick. Her research has focused on the analysis of discourses and the digital culture of love, investigating digital technologies of love and the ways in which these shape emerging cultural tropes in the dimensions of romance, sexuality and intimacy. In 2021, she curated the series of events entitled ‘Summer of Love: dialogues on digital romance', hosted by Warwick's Centre for Digital Inquiry.

Some of her papers include: ‘Romantic opportunism: Doing the work of structures in post-feminist creative industries (2024)’, ‘Bye bye romance, welcome reputation: An analysis of the digital enclosure of dating’ (2023), and ‘Dating apps: towards post-romantic love in digital societies’ (2022).

Dr Bandinelli has also published on the organisation and significance of work in the creative industries: self-branding, coworking and collaborative economies. Some pieces include: ‘Social Entrepreneurship and Neoliberalism: Making Money While Doing Good’ and ‘The Production of Subjectivities in Neoliberal Culture Industries: The Case of Coworking Spaces’. She also published a book last year: ‘The post-romantics: on new ways of loving’, where Dr Bandinelli makes the case that, ‘The new ideal is that of a love that does not hurt. But how can we love without ever suffering?’

Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.