'Talk to me' badges aimed at making London less lonely

It's a typical urban routine: Sit on the subway, headphones in, fiddling with the smartphone to avoid eye contact with fellow passengers.

"Talking to strangers is a social taboo," said David Blackwell, one of the project's coordinators. "It's something we're inordinately afraid of. Can you imagine how different a city would be if you could just open up to other people with no expectation that a stranger must want something from you?"

Blackwell and other volunteers are handing out badges with the message "Talk to me, I'll talk to you." It's an invitation to strike up a conversation with the wearer, anywhere - whether it's on the commute or waiting in line for coffee.

The crowd-funded project is motivated in part by a recent Sheffield University survey that found 30 per cent of people in the British capital felt isolated and uninvolved in their community.

Of course, the whole concept is opt-in: If you want to keep to yourself, Blackwell says, that's fine. Just don't pick up a badge.