The Hema in Ommen in Overijssel has come up with a quacking way of alleviating loneliness, and it’s finding favour on social media.

The branch sports a container full of rubber ducks with the slogan In je eendje? (a play on “duck” (eend) and “on your lonesome” (eentje) and a set of instructions. People can put the duck on the table to indicate they are in need of some social contact via a simple chat.

Branch manager Jarno Doornewaard said he had spotted ducks on tables on the first day and that their number is growing.

“The barrier for human contact is lower because of the ducks,” he told RTL Nieuws. “People are spending a lot of time on their phones but a duck is a good conversation starter,” he said.

Doornewaard stresses the duck is not his idea but one he found on social media.

“A lot of people suffer from loneliness or a lack of social contacts,” psychologist Marissa van der Sluis. Many people don’t go in for spontaneous chats but research has shown that it’s those short instances of contact, for instance at a bus stop or on the train, that make people feel happier, she said.

But what if the duck is a dead duck and no one heeds the call? “There is a risk that people who have trouble making contact anyway will feel rejected all the more if their invitation is ignored,” Van der Sluis said.

The conversation duck isn’t for everyone but is nice for people who want a spontaneous chat, not a philosophical discussion, she said.