Day in the Lonely

In 2021-22, Childline counsellors received on average 15 contacts a day from children struggling with loneliness. Our latest video campaign, Day in the Lonely, shows children that help is out there, and that loneliness doesn’t have to last.

If you’ve ever experienced loneliness in your life, you’ll know how overwhelming it can feel.

That’s why we’ve launched a new video campaign, Day in the Lonely, to show children that Childline is here to support them through it.

The videos borrow from the popular ‘Day in the Life’ trend on TikTok. Each follows a young person from the moment they wake up, showing them at school, playing games or hanging out with friends. But the videos also show how loneliness can creep into their days and impact them – before signalling how they can get help from Childline.

Day in the Lonely is based on real-life stories from young people who have contacted Childline, and thankfully found the support they need to overcome loneliness.

We hope that by watching the videos, young people will realise that they are not alone in feeling the way they do – and that as long as we’re here, they’ll always have someone to talk to.

Scan here to watch the films or search 'Childline Day in the Lonely.’

As you might expect, counselling sessions on loneliness peaked during the height of the pandemic. Although they’ve since dropped a little, they’re still worryingly high.

Often, our counsellors hear from children struggling with loneliness because they’ve been left out of friendship groups or social media chats. Other children say loneliness stems from negative self-image, or believing that their friends and families won’t understand them.

It’s an incredibly heavy burden to carry alone. We hope that by seeing our Day in the Lonely videos, more children will recognise that they’re not alone and reach out to Childline for support.

Where can children get support?

Send an email and a counsellor will reply within 24 hours.

Call 0800 11 11 to speak to a Childline counsellor for free.

Log in for a 1-2-1 counsellor chat in a safe, confidential online space.

Talk on our message boards to other young people in similar situations.

Write a letter to Ask Sam. Sam reads every letter and responds to a few publicly each week.

Since the campaign launched in February, the Childline adverts and related social media posts were seen over 65 million times by young people. The campaign has also received some very positive feedback from parents and young people alike you so much!

If you know any young people struggling with loneliness, we urge you to share these videos with them, and get in contact with Childline if they need it.

Girl, 18