Chico Abstract Loneliness is a discrepancy between a person s desired and achieved level of social interaction. This paper introduces the idea that some of the strategies used by individuals in coping with loneliness may have implications for consumer behavior and marketing. Measurement and cross-cultural issues are discussed.
Individualism is proposed as a mediating variable.
Very few humans have escaped the distressing experience of loneliness. As we grow up, social relationships start, change, and end. Although there are cross-cultural differences in how people respond to loneliness, the experience itself appears to be universal. Perhaps it starts in babyhood, when we first experience the painful anxiety of separation from parents, even if it is for very short periods of time. And experiences as we grow up may add to that.