Britain’s youth has lost its social swagger, with happiness and confidence among 16- to 25-year-olds plunging to a 13-year low, according to research exposing the impact of Covid.
With music festivals cancelled, nightclubs shuttered and students confined to halls of residence, 40% of young people now report being anxious about socialising with people, one-third say they don’t know how to make new friends and 35% say they’ve never felt more alone, a study by the Prince’s Trust has revealed.
Even as the last lockdown restrictions are lifted this week, youth workers say they face an uphill struggle persuading people to socialise in real life, rather than online. Young people are reporting friendship groups withering and acute anxiety about going out, a legacy of having to negotiate infection control measures and fear of spreading Covid.
The impact is worse for those not in work, education or training and from poorer backgrounds, with a quarter of young people in those groups reporting that they always feel anxious compared with 15% among people working or studying.
“Young people aren’t getting the same level of new experiences and that’s stopping them becoming independent,” said Claire Carroll, who works with young people in Birmingham for the Prince’s Trust. “There’s not the same level of socialisation you get if you go to college or have a job. I think a lot of people have fallen through the gaps.”
The Prince’s Trust NatWest Youth Index, based on polling this month by YouGov, found almost a quarter of young people believed they would never recover from the emotional impact of the pandemic and almost half agreed that the pandemic had left them feeling “burnt out”.
A separate Office for National Statistics survey this month showed 16- to 29-year-olds feel considerably more anxious than the general population. 42% reported high levels of anxiety in the first half of this month compared with 34% on average and just 29% for people aged 50 to 69.
The youngest are also the only group among whom the majority said they felt lonely often, always or some of the time.
“There seems to be a real thirst for people to be together,” said a youth worker in London who said he saw high levels of social anxiety. “There are great hugs and shrieks when they get together, but then everyone goes on their phone.”
Some girls have been spending up to 19 hours a day on their screens and others have decided against developing romantic relationships, even dressing in body-covering tracksuits with the purpose of avoiding attention. They don’t want to face criticism on social media if an issue blows up, he said.
“Being a teenager you already have to navigate a lot of difficulties. You are exploring your identity and your place in the world. Add the pandemic that has separated you from your peer group, the schools stripping out support services, 12 years of austerity and the explosion of social media and you have a perfect storm.”
Molly Trenwith, 23, from Wigan, was among thousands of young people bereaved during the pandemic. She said her anxiety grew after her mother, Jane, 60, died, to the extent she was “terrified to leave the house and scared of getting Covid”. It meant that between the ages of 21 and 23, when young people’s social lives are often blooming, physical contact with her friends and family was replaced with Facebook messenger and WhatsApp.
“I would just sit in bed,” she said. “It was easier for me dealing with my mental health, but in reality, it made it worse.”
“When you leave college you’re supposed to go out, drink and meet people, but all of that went online,” she said. “I don’t know how to start a conversation. It is strange how it has changed.”
Mahoua Koui, 22, from Stoke, said she had found sustaining friendships during the past two years difficult, and said her social dynamic had changed from a large friendship ground to her now just having two close friends.
“This alarming downward spiral of anxiety, stress and lack of confidence for the future will impact young people today and in future generations, while widening the gap for the most disadvantaged,” said Jonathan Townsend, the UK chief executive of Prince’s Trust. “With the right support from businesses, government and charities we can turn this around and ensure young people have the right skills and confidence to feel positive about their future work, and about their life overall.”
