Kim Samuel

About

Kim Samuel is the founder and chief belonging officer of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, a visiting research fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, a visiting scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and the author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation.

Books by Kim Samuel

Recent Posts

The Surprising Ways Solitude Is an Antidote to Loneliness

Amidst a global loneliness crisis, we’re losing out on solitary reflection. Yet time alone can, paradoxically, help us connect better to others. Here's how.

Key Insights From the UK's First Belonging Barometer

A survey of 10,000 people across Britain shows that experiences of isolation vary by age, ability, gender, and geography. The findings will inform solutions to foster belonging.

We’re Running a Risky Cognitive Experiment on Our Own Kids

While social media promised connection, it has instead contributed to a crisis of isolation in youth. The onus is on tech companies and governments to shift our unhealthy reliance on screens.

Bringing Back Institutionalization Would Be Inhumane—and Ineffective

Mental health could be a key issue in the 2024 election. Voters should reject a false solution that denies dignity and ignores evidence.

How Mindfulness Builds Belonging

It’s good news that mindfulness is now mainstream. But there’s a risk in seeing it as an individual mental health intervention. Mindfulness is much more than that.

Community Is the Opposite of Schadenfreude

Social media has created the conditions for schadenfreude, the antithesis of community, to run rampant. Find out how to build belonging in the age of social media.

How to Reverse the Psychology of Othering

We’re living in an age when “othering” is on the rise. Yet the tendency is arguably as ancient as humanity itself. Here are ideas and strategies for how to combat it.

The New Psychology of Belonging

A conversation with Nelson Mandela underscores how belonging isn’t just a need, but a right.