Loneliness is still widely perceived as a problem of later life. Public debate, policy interventions, and funding have historically focused on older populations, often associating loneliness with ageing, bereavement, or declining health.
While loneliness in later life is real and serious, this framing obscures a growing and deeply concerning reality: young adults are now the age group most affected by loneliness in the UK.
According to analysis from the UK Parliament’s House of Commons Library, young people aged 16–34 are over five times more likely to struggle with chronic loneliness than those over the age of 65. This is not a marginal difference. It reflects a structural shift in how young adulthood is lived, shaped, and supported.
Over the past decade, the proportion of under-35s reporting that they have just one or no close friends has trebled, rising from 7% to 22%.
Meanwhile, in February 2025, The Times reported that the UK now has the highest rates of loneliness among young adults in Europe, with more than 10% of under-30s saying they feel lonely “most” or “all of the time”.
Despite living in an era of constant digital communication, meaningful and sustained social connection is becoming harder to establish – and easier to lose.
The Long Shadow of the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic did not create loneliness among young adults, but it significantly accelerated and entrenched existing vulnerabilities.
Research from Harvard shows that young adults and teenagers were the age group most badly affected by loneliness during the pandemic. Lockdowns coincided with critical life stages: leaving education, entering the workforce, forming adult friendships, and building independence. Many of these transitions were delayed or stripped of their social dimension.
For some, informal social learning was interrupted at a crucial moment. Everyday, low-stakes interactions – the casual conversations, shared routines, and spontaneous encounters that gradually build confidence and belonging – were largely removed.
The pandemic also normalised isolation in ways that have lingered. Remote work, reduced expectations around socialising, and the framing of withdrawal as responsible blurred the line between temporary necessity and long-term habit.
For many young adults, the pandemic’s social impact did not end when restrictions lifted – its effects are still unfolding.
Work, Remote Life, and the Loss of Everyday Interaction
The pandemic has also led to changing patterns of work, that have further reshaped how young adults connect.
In a survey of 2,000 UK and US remote workers, many reported feeling isolated and believed that working from home had negatively affected their ability to build relationships
(The HR Director).
For many young adults, work once provided routine, informal interaction, and low-effort social contact.
When those everyday moments disappear, replacement connections rarely emerge automatically – particularly for those living alone, newly relocated, or early in their careers.
Why Early Adulthood Matters So Much
Loneliness in young adulthood is not a temporary phase that can be safely ignored. It coincides with a critical period in which people are forming their sense of self, confidence, identity, and belonging.
Early adulthood is when individuals begin to test who they are socially and professionally – developing self-worth through friendships, peer acceptance, and shared experience.
When loneliness or exclusion takes hold during this stage, it can have a disproportionately damaging impact, undermining confidence, reinforcing negative self-beliefs, and shaping how people see their place in the world.
Research published by the American Psychological Association found a strong relationship between the social connections formed in early adulthood and emotional health later in life. This matters because social networks tend to sharply drop by nearly half after the age of 25, with the steepest declines often occurring as people partner, marry, or have children.
As a result, the connections formed in early adulthood often set the foundation for long-term social resilience. When those connections are weak, fragile, or absent, loneliness is more likely to become entrenched – with knock-on effects for mental health, employment confidence, and economic outcomes over the life course.
The Cost of Living Crisis & Employment Insecurity
The cost of living crisis has significantly intensified loneliness – and young adults have been worst impacted by this.
ONS data shows that adults aged 25–34 are 3.4 times as likely to struggle with the cost of living crisis as the average Briton. Renters are particularly exposed, and research shows that 4 in 10 young adults are paying unaffordable rent.
Savings would normally act as a buffer, yet young adults have the lowest savings of any working-age group. In April 2022, analysis found that 50% of 18–34 year olds had reduced or stopped saving altogether.
Alongside rising costs, young adults also face heightened employment insecurity. Around one million young adults are currently out of work, and youth unemployment remains deeply interconnected with loneliness. Work provides not just income, but structure, routine, purpose, and social contact. When employment is lost or unstable, social isolation often follows.
Looking ahead, young adults are also most exposed to labour market disruption from AI and automation, particularly in entry-level and routine roles.
These pressures directly affect social lives. A UK Youth survey found that 36% of young people felt lonelier because they had cut back on social activities to save money.
Tragically, when funds are tight – it is socialising that is often one of the first things to take the hit – causing young people to turn down social plans.
In fact, a UK Youth survey found that 36% of young people felt lonelier because they had cut back on social activities to save money.
At the same time, the experience of financial insecurity can intensify personal challenges, with shame around it often prevents many young people from talking openly about their situation.
Social Media & Comparison
Digital technology and the rise of social media has transformed how young adults communicate and maintain relationships. For many, online platforms provide continuity, convenience, and a sense of presence across distance.
However, digital connection is not a reliable substitute for meaningful, in-person interaction.
Frequent online contact does not necessarily translate into feelings of closeness, trust, or emotional safety – all core parts of which are vital parts of fulfilling connection.
Social media exposes young adults to constant, curated images of connection that can lead to unrealistic expectations of friendship, popularity, and constant social fulfilment – that can distort how they assess their own social lives.
This matters because loneliness is not simply a measure of how much social contact someone has, but of how much meaningful connection they feel they have relative to what they need or expect.
It is the gap between expectations and reality that drives distress, that can leave young people feeling lonely even when they appear socially connected on the surface.
Unequal Access to Support
Loneliness among young adults is not evenly distributed, and access to support varies widely.
A major contributing factor is the diminishing availability of “third spaces” – informal places outside home and work where social connection can develop naturally. In previous generations, these often took the form of community centres, faith spaces or even local pubs.
Together, they formed part of the everyday social fabric, offering low-pressure, affordable ways to spend time with others.
Changing social behaviours, alongside the steady decline of many of these institutions, has hollowed out this shared social infrastructure. In their place, connection has increasingly shifted towards commercialised alternatives.
Today, gyms, co-working spaces, and private members’ clubs often promise community and belonging, but typically at a significant cost, sometimes running into hundreds or even thousands of pounds per year.
This is compounded by under-recognition at a policy and funding level. Despite high prevalence, loneliness among young adults receives relatively little targeted investment compared to older populations.
After the age of 21, many young adults lose access to structured social environments provided by youth services or education, with few replacements available.
At the same time, long waitlists for talking therapies mean that even when young adults do seek help, support is often delayed or unavailable. Mental health services are overstretched and not designed to address social isolation at scale, leaving many without timely or appropriate intervention.
A Shared Responsibility
Addressing it requires more than awareness or crisis intervention. It requires shifts in how we talk about loneliness, sustained investment in policy and prevention, and the development of interventions that address a historical lack of funding for social connection earlier in the life course.
To help drive that change, we work across multiple levels of the system. On the front line, we design and deliver regular, inclusive community activities that lower the barrier to connection and make it easier for young adults to form and sustain friendships in real-world settings.
Alongside this, we deliver dedicated programmes and targeted support to help those known to be at greatest risk of loneliness, who may be facing heightened barriers to connection.
We conduct research to better understand how and why young adults experience loneliness, the structural and cultural factors that shape those experiences, and which types of interventions are most effective in rebuilding connection.
We work with employers, local authorities, researchers, and policymakers to ensure loneliness among young adults is recognised as a preventable health and social issue, not simply an personal issue.
Finally, we run ground-breaking campaigns to drive wider social change – tackling the stigma that still surrounds loneliness, raising awareness of its impact, and championing friendship as one of the most vital foundations of a healthy and happy life.
By combining practical action with learning and advocacy, our aim is not only to support individuals today, but to help shift the wider system – so future generations of young adults are better supported to build connection, confidence, and a sense of belonging from the outset.
