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Lonely children often grow up to be lonely, not to mention anxious and depressed. In one study, after factoring in profession, parenting style and relationship, sleep patterns, and dietary habits, only children were more likely to display symptoms associated with anxiety and depression than those with siblings. One, it seems, really is the loneliest number. Friendships come and go, and chances are our parents will leave this earth long before we do but, through it all, siblings are there by our sides The western world is already consumed by a loneliness epidemic. Our falling birth rate and the rise in single-child households likely makes this worse. There is a theory,

Last week, an old acquaintance went viral. Charles Withers had, according to his pregnant wife, disappeared around a year ago, leaving her to bring up one young child alone with another on the way. The pretty Massachusetts blonde posted a plea for information on Facebook. It was, she wrote, surprisingly difficult to divorce someone who refused to return your calls.  In an age of near-constant surveillance, how does it feel when the choice to disappear is taken from you? Not long after the story surfaced, I received a message from a friend. ‘Do you remember Charlie Withers?’ he asked. I did. He had been part of our wider social circle, one of the