Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss. Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact.
Loneliness is not evenly distributed across age groups. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, young adults are the most likely to report feeling lonely, with 48% of those aged 18-29 saying they often feel lonely. This is in contrast to older adults, who are generally less likely to feel lonely.
Young adults averaged 47.87, while those 65 and older, often assumed to be the most at risk of loneliness, scored an average of 40—the lowest score of any generational group. Simply living through a transitional stage of life into adulthood in today's world can be a lonely experience.
For instance, a study from 2016 found that loneliness may be genetic — it is a “modestly heritable trait,” the researchers explained. Further, living with chronic health conditions, and mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression, can also make people feel lonely.
Compared with the general population, residents of deprived neighbourhoods had higher odds of loneliness.
Personality traits related differently to loneliness depending on gender. Among women, loneliness was associated with higher levels of agreeableness. Among men, loneliness was associated with lower levels of agreeableness, lower levels of conscientiousness, and higher levels of neuroticism.
Here are the top three things contributing to Gen Z's loneliness. Our preoccupation has skyrocketed in recent years. We are all distracted. We are distracted by work, house chores, progress, social media, the activities of today, the commitments of tomorrow, and then relieving the stress from it all.
Most studies explain loneliness can be linked to social media and frequent life transitions, including COVID-19 — for more than two years, people were forced into isolation and unable to have “normal” social lives, creating room for a big transition.
Published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a study found that people's expectations from interpersonal relationships undergo considerable changes as they age — resulting in them often feeling lonelier as they grow older, even if they're not alone.
Loneliness appeared to be more common among men. The survey found 63% of men to be lonely, compared with 58% of women.
“The worst kind of loneliness in the world is isolation that comes from being misunderstood. It can make people lose their grasp on reality.”
Loneliness affects people in different ways, and for this reason there are four distinct types of loneliness identified by psychologists: emotional, social, situational and chronic.
Loneliness and social isolation are not only linked to depression, but they also raise the risk of anxiety, cognitive problems, self-harm, and suicide, according to an advisory published in May 2023 by the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, MD.
As young adults look forward to their future, older adults tend to reflect and have negative feelings toward how their life has progressed. The author of the study also points to social media and technology as reasons why older adults are unhappy.
On the general scale, women have reported having higher levels of loneliness than men. Except for one category: single men are the lonelier group compared to single women. Women are more socially minded and are therefore able to better maintain close relationships than men.
Gen Z has been called the 'most depressed generation' with the least positive outlook and diminished emotional and social well-being. They have more unmet social needs than any other generation. The statistics for their behavioural-health issues – mental and substance disorders – are alarming.
New research from talent management company Cangrade has looked at workplace happiness generation by generation. And a survey of 600 individuals found that Gen Z is the most unhappy generation at work. Just 59% of Gen Z workers are happy, compared to 69% for Baby Boomers and 76% for Millennials and Gen X.
The idea of social isolation makes them even more anxious and uneasy, and makes them want to be socially involved all the time. Social anxiety can also be attributed to the changing nuclear family setup in modern India, where gen z are subject to helicopter parenting (J. L. Young, 2017).
Members of Generation Z report higher rates of depression and a number of other mental health conditions than do generations before them. At the same time, they are more likely than previous generations to report these problems, positioning those who seek help in a place to receive it.
Students fear a lack of finances and fulfilment
The greatest fears for Generation Z centre on not achieving their hopes and dreams for the future.
Millennials and Gen Z respondents saw higher rates of people deliberately choosing to be single in their social circles—60% and 56%, respectively—and 81% of millennials and 79% of Gen Z single respondents saw being single as a way to have more time to work a side hustle.
So if you find yourself becoming easily drained of energy when you're around others, then it might be the case that you're an introvert and this is the reason you enjoy spending time alone.
Introverts can also sometimes be considered loners. These are people who enjoy time alone, not necessarily because they don't like being around other people, but rather because they are more interested in their own inner thoughts and feelings. Spending quality time by themselves is how they are able to regain energy.
According to a recent report published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, nicer people are more likely to battle depression. The study says that if a person is sensitive to unfairness, he or she is much more likely to get depressed when compared to someone who is not at all bothered (read selfish).