Due to the pandamic and constant isolation, a lot of people experience loneliness. I am no exception , even though I have lovely housemates and friends who I ever so often can see in real life instead through a screen. This emotion is a strange one in my opinion. This is because loneliness can cause even more loneliness, because it can make you even more distant to people. It's also different from sadness, because watching a fun series doesn't solve the issue. The only remedy is actually seeing somebody, but not only that. I think the most important part is phisical attention. Of course this will differ for each person, but I don't just want to see someone with 1,5 meters of distance between us, I need to hug them.
What interests me is that this feeling is rarely portrayed by robots. At least as far as I know. When you search for lonely robots, you get videos like this:
I do have to admit that it is very cute, but this robot is made to combat loneliness in humans, not feel it themselves. But how can a robot combat loneliness if it doesn't even know what it is? That's not very relatable. (Of course the cuteness does help a lot, to be fair.)
You also have robots that can feel "bored" when you don't interact with them, but that is not the same as feeling like nobody is around you.
Why would I like a robot to feel lonely you ask? Well, to learn more about it of course!
It bafles me that loneliness causes itself, but also that it is possible to feel it even if you do have people around you, which is the worst part.
I also have felt that. It's a nagging feeling that only get's worse because the remedy is to go to someone and talk about it, which is the difficult part.
I am very lucky that I have a lot of people in my life now whom I can visit and call any time I want.
Still, I am also intrigued by this feeling and would love to learn more about it, so we can prevent it in the future.
So again, that is why I would like to make a robot around this subject. What makes us lonely?
I don't know why, but Scrubs always seems to have something relatable in any subject.
So! How do I imagine the robot?
Maybe a start would be that the robot wonders around with a small stuffed animal. When the stuffed animal is taken away, the robot becomes "lonely" and starts to wander away from people to represent the downward spiral. Maybe they even search a corner to stay in. After that the loneliness can be combatted by giving the robot attention. This can be done by talking in it's direction or giving the stuffed animal back. You could even make it so the robot refuses to cooperate at first till they "realize" you actually try to help.
After giving the robot a big hug (or a small one depending on the size of the robot), it's feeling better and doesn't need the stuffed animal anymore. It even starts to approach people actively.
Basically, I'm trying to think about what loneliness really entails and how to convey it...which is actually the whole purpose of the course come to think of it. If we know how to convey it, we can more easily spot it in people and reach out to them sooner.
Finally, I want to disclaim something. I am feeling a lot better than a couple of years ago, just so you know. Redeang my own blog made me realize that it looks like I need help right now or something. But, don't worry, I have practised a lot and I will reach out myself if needed (even if it is still very difficult sometimes, oh well).
Here is a free virtual hug for now so you also won't feel lonely ^^