Are Gen Z the loneliest generation in human history?

<p>The number of children who say they feel lonely at school more than doubled between 2012 and 2018, and Britons aged 16-29 are more than twice as likely to report feeling often or always lonely as those aged over 70.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>A report by the think tank Onward found that one in five Britons aged 18-24 have one or no close friends, a proportion that has tripled in the past decade.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Historically, people’s social networks have tended to shrink with age, but nowadays research shows that young people have fewer friends than older Britons.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>The evidence from the UK and other Western countries suggests that Generation Z – those born after 1997 – isn’t just the loneliest cohort in the country, they may be the loneliest generation in human history.</p><br /><p>-</p><br /><p>Sarah Dawood, senior associate editor speaks to writer Sophie McBain, who looked into the epidemic of loneliness amongst young people today for her New Statesman feature <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2024/05/the-lonely-land" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The lonely land</a>.</p><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>