While social media has given us easy access to connect online with anyone in the world instantly, replacing face-to-face contact with virtual relationships could be making us more lonely.

Key points: A university academic has said social media overuse can make you more lonely if you use it to substitute real-world relationships

A university academic has said social media overuse can make you more lonely if you use it to substitute real-world relationships Loneliness is considered a global epidemic, with seniors and youth the most at-risk

Loneliness is considered a global epidemic, with seniors and youth the most at-risk An aged care provider has said 40 per cent of residents do not have family contact after moving into a care facility

Loneliness has become much more serious than a passing emotion — it is now considered an epidemic that is affecting people at opposite ends of the age spectrum.

While people may go for a scroll on Facebook to alleviate loneliness, University of Wollongong sociologist, Roger Patulny, said social media platforms should be used to facilitate more meet-ups in the real world.

"People are using it [social media] instead of meeting face-to-face … all their contact is virtual, so if you use social media as a substitute for meeting people face-to-face, it can have the opposite effect [to forming friendships]," Dr Patulny said.

"A lot of people take great pride in the number of friends they have on Facebook or their followers on Twitter.

"These raw metrics might make you feel satisfied for a while, but if you don't connect with them, it won't give you what you need to alleviate loneliness."

Roger Patulny wants to see people using social media to boost face-to-face contact with friends. ( Supplied: University of Wollongong )

Make social media work in your favour

Dr Patulny said the rates of social media use were surprisingly similar among the most and least lonely sectors of the population.

This means that loneliness is being driven by how it is used, not by simply using it.

"The key seems to be, if you use social media to augment your existing networks and relationships, you're on a winner," Dr Patulny said.

"If you can use it to keep meeting your physical friends more often, it's an effective way to use it to deal with loneliness.

"For example, if people sign up to WhatsApp and they use a group to get their friends to meet to walk the dog or have a beer."

Over 75s some of the most at risk

While using social media to alleviate loneliness might come naturally to younger people, those over 75 face a greater challenge.

Not only might they find social media foreign, they are also often living in isolation, or without family contact.

Patrick Reid says an alarming amount of aged care facility residents do not have any family contact. ( ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale )

Chief executive of IRT Group, Patrick Reid, says this is evident in the very few visitors that aged care residents receive.

"We see people coming into residential aged care, and up to 40 per cent never see a relative once they come into care," he said.

"Our staff and volunteers become their de-facto family."

IRT Group is a housing and aged care provider with facilities in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.

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Mr Reid says IRT tries to focus on their residents' interests and tailors their social activities around that.

That can include cultural celebrations or providing different language speakers so residents can chat in their native tongue.

He said loneliness should be seen as an immediate problem.

"The UK has a Minister for Loneliness, but we don't even have a minister for ageing who is in Cabinet," Mr Reid said.

"Does loneliness have the ear and eye of those who make can a difference to it? Probably not at the moment, but those of us at the frontline are certainly seeing it."