The Word of the Year 2024 Chosen as "Crowded Loneliness"

Through a vote conducted in collaboration between the Turkish Language Association (Türk Dil Kurumu) and Ankara University, the word of 2024 has been selected as “kalabalık yalnızlık”.

Public Voting Process

According to an announcement from the Turkish Language Association, seven word and concept terms, determined by an Evaluation Committee composed of experts in the field, were submitted for public voting on the Turkish Language Association’s website via people.

The words selected for the vote were “kalabalık yalnızlık”, “mercy”, “yabancılaşma”, “algorithm”, “yozlaşma”, “artificial intelligence” and “digital yorgunluk”.

In the public vote, which attracted approximately one million participants, “kalabalık yalnızlık” was announced as the word and concept of 2024.

The Evaluation Committee assessed the concept of “kalabalık yalnızlık” as follows: “In 2024, an increase has been observed in the number of studies indicating that people feel alone even amidst crowds. The terms ‘yalnızlık’—signifying singularity—and ‘kalabalık’—signifying plurality—can coexist as opposites. This like phenomenon, explainable through sociological, psychological and communicative reasons, manifests itself in individuals’ daily lives and the ways they form relationships.”

A visual representing the concept of “kalabalık yalnızlık”. (Generated by artificial intelligence.)

The Impact of Social Media on the Concept of “Kalabalık Yalnızlık”

The announcement notes that research and increased use of digital technologies have shown that people are beginning to feel more alone. It states:

“Gaining followers and likes on social media creates a false sense of ‘crowd’ connection, yet this leads to an intensification of loneliness. The digital world offers transient relationships that deepen the feeling of isolation. On the other hand, the accelerating pace of life and rising human mobility weaken social bonds, causing individuals to struggle to form meaningful connections and thus feel alone even in crowds. A large number of people surrounding an individual does not mean they do not feel alone. The presence of family members in the same house does not prevent someone from feeling lonely at the dinner table.”