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1 Introduction Loneliness has become a pressing societal concern (Rokach 1989; Gierveld 1998). Governments and health care organizations are warning of its growing psychological and economic costs. In England alone, 3.1 million people report feeling lonely (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport 2024). Loneliness is now described as a modern “epidemic,” reflecting its escalating prevalence and profound consequences for well-being (Liu et al. 2025).
1 Introduction During disasters (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics), virtual communities can act as information providers to reduce victim uncertainty (Jurgens and Helsloot 2018; Qu, Wu, and Wang 2009; Houston et al. 2015). A virtual community is ‘a group of people who communicate and interact, develop relationships, and collectively and individually seek to attain some goals in an IT-supported virtual space’ (Ma and Agarwal 2007).
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