Young people feel lonelier than any other age group, largest study into loneliness reveals

Young people feel loneliness more intensely and more frequently than any other age group, new research has found.

Two-fifths (40 per cent) of people aged 16-24 say they feel lonely often or very often, compared to 29 per cent of 65-74-year-olds and 27 per cent of those aged over 75, according to a nationwide survey - the largest ever conducted into the issue - carried out by BBC Radio 4’s All In The Mind in collaboration with Wellcome Collection.

The study, carried out by academics at the University of Manchester, Brunel University London, and the University of Exeter, assessed 55,000 people aged 16 and over, asking them about their attitudes and personal experiences of loneliness.

The findings fly in the face of the stereotypical image of a lonely, elderly person, with some experts suggesting that young people feel loneliness more intensely because they are at a life stage of discovering who they are.

Between the ages of 16 and 24, people generally go through a time of identity change and of learning to regulate emotions, which can lead to a feeling of isolation.

Researchers found that those who report feeling the loneliest tended to have more ‘online only’ friends, on platforms such as Facebook.

Many people offer advice to friends and family members who seem lonely, however participants said that suggesting they try dating is the least helpful idea.

After all, being alone and lonely aren’t the same thing - only a third of people say they think loneliness is about being by yourself and 83 per cent of people like being on their own.

The five main characteristics of being lonely, according to the survey are:

What’s more, 41 per cent of people believe loneliness can sometimes be a positive experience.

The online survey was open to all members of the public and it asked respondents to answer questions based on their experiences of loneliness, relationships, friendships and technology use.

The researchers point out, however, that as the sample of participants was self-selecting, those who feel lonelier might have been more keen to take part.

The survey also revealed that there is still a stigma to being lonely and that women feeling even more shame about feeling lonely than men. What's more, feelings of shame surrounding loneliness decrease with age, but older people say they're more likely to try and hide their loneliness than younger people.

Commenting on the findings, Pamela Qualter, Professor of Psychology at the University of Manchester, who led the study, says: “For me, the most interesting findings relate to the stigma of loneliness and the varied solutions people had to overcome loneliness.

“Those findings suggest that we need to be kinder to ourselves when we feel disconnected from others, but also that there is a whole toolkit of potential solutions that we can try.”