Abstract
Living in retirement communities is often promoted as a solution to problems of loneliness and social isolation which are risk factors for both mortality and poor physical and mental health. However, even there, friendships do not automatically form between neighbours, and it can be difficult for newcomers and those on the margins to engage with existing clubs and groups. In this context , from autumn 2021 to spring 2023, we carried out two studies in a retirement village in Surrey UK to co-design a novel social media system to help address issues of social connection for residents. In this paper we report the requirements, design and evaluation of the resulting system called Neighbourhood Natter. This was unusual in not supporting online communication, but rather the facilitation of face-to-face conversations between small groups of neighbours in a community social space. Residents embraced the system and fell into having meaningful conversations with acquaintances or strangers relatively quickly. These led to a significant reduction in reported loneliness levels, positive mood shifts and private plans to meet with conversational partners again. 1 Introduction A key factor for health and wellbeing in later life is the strength of people's social relationships. Those with diverse and supportive relationships with family, friends and local communities report higher levels of happiness than others [1]. Conversely, when people feel that they do not have the quality and quantity of relationships that they desire this can lead to feelings of loneliness which impact negatively on health, well-being and quality of life [2]. Indeed, loneliness has been associated with an increased risk of poor mental health [3], dementia [4], cardiovascular disease [5] and mortality [6]. Age UK forecast that by 2025, without intervention, there will be as many as 2m people in England aged over 50 who will often feel lonely, and that this will be most pronounced in those who feel that they have no-one to talk to [7]. Therefore , there is a need to find creative and innovative solutions that could help older adults feel less lonely and more connected to other people.