One in 20 young people in England now have no close friends, report finds

Young people in England are becoming dramatically more isolated from one another, a report published today reveals, with one in 20 now reporting that they have no close friends at all, up from one in 100 in 2014. 

New research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reveals a generation becoming more vulnerable, with worsening mental health increasingly hitting young people’s ability to be productive.

According to the report, The Loneliest Generation, the proportion of 16–21-year-olds with at least three close friends has also fallen substantially, as has the quality of friendships, with fewer 14- and 15-year-olds saying they are happy with their friends than a decade ago.

Young people are also reporting strikingly low levels of confidence in their appearance. Only around one in three young women are pleased with how they look. A decade ago, more than half of boys were satisfied with their appearance and today that has fallen to 38%.

The authors of the report say that the foundations of a good adolescence are being eroded, leaving young people increasingly disconnected from themselves, from each other and from wider society. 

A mental health toll

New research for the report found that nearly half of young women aged 16–24 (47%) and more than a third of young men (36%) now meet the threshold for psychological distress. IPPR says that this is having a profound effect on productivity. In 2010–12, just 4.1% of 16–24-year-olds said their mental health had meant they accomplished less than they otherwise would have over the previous month. Today that figure is 16.8% – more than four times as high. 

IPPR argues that these trends cannot be understood by treating young people as simply less resilient than previous generations. Today’s generation has grown up amid an extraordinary combination of austerity, Covid-19, rapidly growing social media use, economic insecurity and increasingly difficult transitions into adult life, such as expensive rents and unaffordable house prices.

IPPR warns that these pressures are combining to produce a generation increasingly disconnected on three fronts – from themselves, from each other and from wider society.

The consequences extend far beyond “youth policy”. A society in which young people have fewer meaningful relationships, less confidence and less faith in their future risks becoming less productive and less cohesive, the report claims. It also risks losing the belief that collective action can make life better.

What IPPR wants to happen next

IPPR has recently launched its State of a Generation programme, chaired by Sam Freedman, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to work with young people, experts and businesses to develop a new settlement for young people. The final report will be published in 2027, setting out solutions to rebuild the connections, institutions and opportunities young people need to thrive.  

Commenting on the report’s findings, Avnee Morjaria, associate director at IPPR, said: “Kids aren’t snowflakes. This is a rational response to a bleak world we have left for them. A generation has grown up through austerity, a pandemic and a digital revolution, while the costs of getting a home and starting an adult life have soared. We have stripped away too many of the places, services and routes into adulthood that help young people build confidence, connection and hope.

“The consequences are now showing up not just in young people’s happiness, but in their ability to learn, work and get things done. If we want a more productive, cohesive and hopeful country, we have to rebuild the foundations of a good adolescence.”

Ellie Harris, head of children and young people at IPPR, said: “Whatever their background, too many young people are experiencing distress, loneliness and barriers at every turn. This cannot be solved by tweaks to youth policy, another education initiative or simply adding a few more professionals. We need a new settlement for young people that gives them hope and a genuine stake in the future.

“Young people are the future of our country. They deserve the opportunity to build meaningful, fulfilling lives, and it is our responsibility to help make that possible.”

IPPR says conversations for the report showed young people up and down the country have big hopes for their futures – but told researchers, again and again, that the support they need from adults and institutions isn’t there.

Conor Carleton, children and young people policy expert at IPPR, said: “Young people deserve better. They have been asked to shoulder the consequences of austerity, the pandemic, and a society that has too often put established wealth and powerful tech companies ahead of their interests, reshaping their communities and transforming what it means to grow up.

“Change is desperately needed. Anything short of a fundamental new settlement for young people will fail to match the scale of the challenge they are describing.”

Read the full report, The Loneliest Generation, here.