Lonely Students, Different Needs: How Emotional and Social Loneliness Shape Expectations for Social Robots

Loneliness is a common issue among university students and has been associated with poorer mental health and reduced well-being. According to classic theory, there are two types of loneliness: emotional loneliness, which results from a lack of close attachments, and social loneliness, which is associated with deficits in broader peer networks. However, research into human–robot interaction rarely considers how these two forms of loneliness manifest in people's desire for social robots. This report presents the qualitative findings of semi-structured interviews with 25 students. These students were invited based on their scores for emotional and social loneliness, with the aim of representing a broad range of loneliness profiles. Participants observed standardised demonstrations of three social robots, Pepper, Nao and Furhat, and discussed their attitudes towards them, their potential roles and designs. Across the different profiles, the students generally expressed an openness to the idea of social robots. However, a clear gradient emerged: students who reported higher levels of loneliness tended to view robots as companions and conversational partners, whereas students who reported lower levels of loneliness emphasised the robots’ potential for providing instrumental support and the importance of maintaining stricter boundaries. Loneliness profiles therefore provide a promising lens for thinking about how to design role-appropriate and ethically sensitive robot behaviours and forms for student settings.