The number of young people with no close friends has risen fivefold since 2014 as a result of growing up in a “bleak world” dominated by austerity, the pandemic and social media. New research paints a sobering picture of how 11- to 24-year-olds in England are increasingly lonely, isolated and “disconnected” from themselves, peers and wider society. Among the same age group to which that friendlessness applied – 16- to 21-year-olds – the proportion with at least three close friends also fell significantly.
The number saying they had that many friends fell from 85% in 2012-14 to 72% in 2023-25, IPPR found. The report rejected the idea that today’s generation was less resilient than its predecessors. Instead, it said youth club closures, unaffordable housing, the popularity of TikTok and a loss of self-esteem among young people had contributed to a recent sharp decline in their mental wellbeing.
Young people’s relationships also appeared less strong than before. The proportion of 14- and 15-year-olds who were completely or very happy with their friendships fell from 86% to 76% between the periods 2012-14 and 2023-25. A generation are coming of age in the shadow of a digital childhood, a pandemic and the erosion of the services and spaces that once helped them navigate the journey to adulthood,” the report said.
At the same time, young people’s transition to adulthood had been blocked and their childhood prolonged. According to the report, buying and renting a house had become harder, with the average age of a first-time buyer now 34 and nearly one in five young people spending half of their income on rent. The reduced number of 16- to 24-year-olds starting an apprenticeship and the growth of “Neets” – young adults who are not in education, employment or training – was also deemed to be preventing them from becoming independent adults.
This is a rational response to a bleak world we have left for them”, said Avnee Morjaria, an associate director with the thinktank. The IPPR based its findings on interviews with 150 young people and analysis of official data, including the National Centre for Social Research’s Understanding Society dataset. Big changes in politics, society and technology have resulted in many young people feeling “disconnected from themselves.
They no longer feel they have the support they need to realise their big ambitions. When they reflect on their lives, they conclude they have little control over what happens next,” said the IPPR report. Disconnection was said to be reflected in the rise of doomscrolling – “a fundamentally solitary activity [that] has become the daily pastime of a generation”.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
