this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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While many have their own hobbies that keep them going through the cold dark winter months here – ice swimming, cross-country skiing, walking on the “ice road” out into the archipelago – one thing remains a problem: loneliness. In an attempt to counter that, authorities in Luleå have launched a campaign to ease that social isolation, ever so slightly, by encouraging people to say hello to one another.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


On the snowy shore of the northern Swedish city of Luleå, bathers are lowering themselves into a rectangular hole in the frozen seawater.

It means people who meet each other, don’t know each other, become a little happier,” says Pontus Wikström, 61, the chair of the winter bathing group Kallis Luleå.

Micael Dahlen, a professor in wellbeing, welfare and happiness at Stockholm School of Economics, says that while loneliness – especially among the young – is a global problem, perhaps Sweden, with its dark, cold winters, is more aware of it.

She wants the city, which is undergoing a period of rapid growth as it tries to attract tens of thousands of new people to work in “green” industry and other services, to not grow more atomised as a result.

Swedish people, Hashemi, has found, take longer to warm up: “They tend to know somebody for a long time and then become more friendly and open to that person.”

Personally, Hashemi has found that vitamin D, gaming, work and study help him get through the winter months – as well as installing a few white lights in his home.


The original article contains 951 words, the summary contains 189 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] visnae 2 points 1 year ago

That is so wholesome. It can be so depressing not seeing the sun for half a year.