Well that’s a surprise…young who WFH say they are feeling lonely

A new study led by the Resolution Foundation has found that increased remote working and passive screen time are driving a loneliness epidemic among young people in the UK. Researchers say the shift to home working, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has stripped away a key source of face-to-face contact for young adults, while heavy internet use compounds the effect on wellbeing. The trend marks a striking generational reversal, with older people now spending more time in company than they did a decade ago, while younger adults spend a growing share of their day alone.

The research, based on diary data tracking how people across the UK spend their time, found young men are alone for nearly seven hours a day, over 40 per cent of their waking hours, while young women average around five hours alone. Adults aged 18-29 reported feeling lonely 14 per cent of the time, twice the rate of those aged 60-69, and those who described their health as poor spent over three hours more alone daily than healthier peers. By contrast, women over 60 and men over 70 now spend 60-90 minutes more each day with company than ten years ago. Resolution Foundation researcher Parth Pandya said solitary paid work, not just screen time, was the bigger driver of youth loneliness and urged policymakers to address it.