{"id":2027,"date":"2016-01-14T15:00:40","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joind.co.uk\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2017-02-12T22:21:54","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T22:21:54","slug":"loneliness-younger-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joind.co.uk\/loneliness-younger-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Loneliness and younger people"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a little known fact that the younger adults are, the more likely they are to feel lonely. Those in the 18 to 24-year-old age group are more vulnerable to loneliness than those in any other age bracket. (48% feel lonely often compared with 25% aged over 65.)[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

One reason is that younger people are more likely to be unemployed than older adults. The unemployment rate for 18 to 24-year-olds is 14% compared with 4.2% in the 25 to 49 bracket and 3.2% in the over 50s.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Rachel Green is project manager for Starting Point<\/a>, a charity based in Reading, Berkshire providing mentoring and work experience to young people not in education, employment or training.\u00a0 She says loneliness is a pervasive issue amongst her clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t get a job or go to university, you lose your peer group when you leave school and you can feel isolated very quickly. If our young people are applying for jobs, they might be getting constant rejections which can affect their self-esteem and make them feel lonely. They can then get into isolating habits like sleeping all day and being awake at night. It\u2019s very easy to go on a downward spiral from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/a><\/p>\n

But even young people who are surrounded by thousands of peers, like students, are vulnerable to loneliness. Kate Ward-Perkins, University of Reading Peer Support<\/a> Co-ordinator, says: \u201cOur sense of belonging comes from being known. When you arrive at university, you might be in a context where nobody knows you. That feeling of not being recognised can mean you lose your internal moorings and don\u2019t know who you are. That\u2019s a lonely feeling and people respond by either becoming frantically social or withdrawing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also a time in life when the task is to separate from parents.\u00a0 This separation means you become more dependent on your peers for your sense of wellbeing. That can make it difficult to acknowledge your vulnerability to your peers.\u00a0 \u2018Face\u2019 becomes important \u2013 not losing face.\u00a0 There\u2019s a tendency for young people to develop a personae that others find acceptable. It can feel very lonely behind that face.\u201d<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Aviva Healthcheck UK Report p 30 (2014). Also The Lonely Society? Mental Health Foundation p 22 (2010)<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Labour Market Statistics, May 2015<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

How technology impacts on loneliness<\/h3>\n

There are mixed views on whether the technology that connects people increases or decrease loneliness. Social media can reduce isolation by making it easy to stay in touch but it can compound loneliness when it\u2019s used as a substitute for face-to-face contact. Almost one third of 18 to 24-year-olds (31%) say they spend too much time communicating with friends and family online when they should be seeing them in person.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman has argued that social networking sites undermine social skills.[2]<\/a> Rachel Green, of Starting Point, has noticed this too. She says some young people develop relationships online around a niche interest, like Japanese movies, at the expense of face-to-face friendships. \u00a0\u201cWhen this happens they aren\u2019t developing their social skills,\u201d says Rachel.\u00a0 \u201cSo if they get a job and there\u2019s a difficult situation, they might not have learnt to deal with a confrontation and they might just walk out. You learn these skills through face-to-face relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, social media can connect people who might otherwise feel lonely. Reading University has a society called R U Not Drinking Much?<\/a> for students who don\u2019t want to get smashed.\u00a0 Its presence on Facebook helps students find each other before they even arrive. \u201cI’m not a huge drinker,\u201d posted a fresher-to-be. \u201cI’m so glad I found this group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fact file on loneliness and younger people<\/strong><\/h3>\n