In a world of instant gratification, is it any surprise that many of us have fallen back in love with the idea of “yearning”? Running counter to much of today’s on-demand culture, yearning melds desire and distance, nostalgia and uncertainty; longing for something, or someone, can sometimes appeal in a way that getting exactly what you want cannot.The resurgence of yearning – especially in the romantic sense – has been one of the biggest entertainment themes of the last couple of years: from The Summer I Turned Pretty and Heated Rivalry to the latest big-screen adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, the allure of unmet desire and slow-burn love has topped hasty happy-ever-afters.

TikTok remains awash with recommendations for those who want to #feeltheyearn.But yearning encompasses more than just romantic infatuation. You might be pining for a particular place or longing for a different time in life.

With this in mind, we took to the streets to ask: what are you yearning for right now?A place by the sea‘It’s just the idea of it’ … Elizabeth Kennedy. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI’m from the north-east of England, so I yearn for a place beside the sea.

I yearn for somewhere that I lived before that is probably no longer there anyway – it’s more the idea of it: something I had that wouldn’t necessarily be there if I went back. I think yearning can be seen as a weakness, so if people are pining more than they used to, they may not want to share it.

Elizabeth Kennedy, 63, retiredFriendships and relationships‘People are pining more openly these days’ … Adam Hamill. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI feel as if I pine for things I have a lot – I place so much value on my friendships and my relationships, and I yearn for them in the quiet moments, even though I have them.

I think people have always yearned – Virginia Woolf was pining for things, for example – but I feel like people are pining more openly these days, especially on social media. Adam Hamill, 24, studentDoing MMA at the gym‘It’s natural to yearn for something’ … Yearner Erys.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI would say I yearn for things, yeah. I’m a mixed martial artist and I’ve not been able to go to my gym in a while, so I’m yearning to go right now.

It’s natural to yearn for something – you learn to enjoy the process. If I haven’t been to the gym for a week, it can feel more worthwhile when I finally do go than if I had been every day.

Erys, 26, studentHome‘People have been romanticising yearning a lot’ … Manar. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianRecently, I’ve been yearning for home, back in Oman.

Hopefully I will get to go for Christmas or the holidays. I feel like, lately, people have been romanticising yearning a lot – it may have been present before, but now people are labelling the feeling and emphasising how much they enjoy the act of yearning.

Manar, 21, studentA day off‘The human touch is missing for a lot of people’ … Declan. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI’ve been working quite a lot, so I’m yearning for a day off!

I think people are yearning for human connection a lot more definitely because everything is online these days – shopping, dating, whatever. I think the human touch is missing for a lot of people – a bit of loneliness maybe.

People are longing for something a bit deeper. Declan, 30, actor/salesmanNothing‘I’m quite happy with what I’ve got’ … Ann Walker.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI don’t yearn; I know a lot of people who do, but that’s not me. I just take each day as it comes and I believe that what is for you will not go by you.

It’s a mindset: if I can’t afford something – a bigger house, for example – I don’t get it. I’m quite happy with what I’ve got.

A lot of the things I think people yearn for are materialistic, but I keep my things for years and years, rather than following the fashions. Ann Walker, 67, retiredMeeting my K-pop idol‘You just have to wait’ … Yuntan.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianWhether I have a small goal or a big dream, I would plan step by step to reach the thing I am yearning for. For example, I’m a K-pop fan and there are some idols that I really like – especially Anton from Riize; he is very handsome.

I yearn to work with these idols, and currently I am studying contemporary art theory. I think yearning can be enjoyable, as long as you are not too anxious about it; you just have to wait.

Yuntan, 22, studentFamily get-togethers‘I’ve got my health!’ … Elizabeth Harvey. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI just yearn for our family get-togethers – I miss all that.

I’ve just been organising a get-together next year, because you’ve got to book these things in advance. But I don’t think I’m longing for anything any more than usual.

I’m quite happy – I’ve got my health, I can get out and about, and that’s the main thing. Elizabeth Harvey, 72, retired nurseVery little‘I’m extremely content’ … Steve.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI see a lot of people yearning for a mythical UK that they think existed about 50 years ago, although it never really did. It’s like a really low-grade nostalgia.

On a personal level, I don’t really yearn – I’m extremely content. That may be because I don’t have a television.

I do go online, but I believe life’s too short to spend it staring at a gogglebox. Steve, 63, self-employed stage managerMy best friend‘I yearn more for people than things’ … Delchie.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI yearn for my best friend – even though she is here! I want her under my skin.

I sometimes yearn to go to places, but with a specific somebody, a special somebody – I yearn more for people than things. Everyone is different – and not everyone enjoys the experience of longing, but it can be fun.

Delchie, 19Holidays and experiences‘It can take time’ … Madeline. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI think people maybe yearn for other people, but not so much for “things” because everything is so accessible now.

People don’t like to wait for anything; they’re not really patient any more. I like the idea of yearning, that it can take time to appreciate an experience.

I’m on holiday with my friend just now – celebrating 10 years of our friendship – and we have been yearning for this trip! Madeline, 24, studentNothing at the moment‘You can tell when someone is really yearning for something’ … Reece Ruddick.

Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianI’m not yearning for anything specific right now. I think the idea of yearning has become overused – people will be single for, say, four months and they’ll say they’re “yearning” to be in a relationship again.

But you can tell when someone is really yearning for something, and when it’s just a buzzword. Reece Ruddick, 18, student