Lonely in Your 20s? It’s Not as Bad as You Might Think
Why young adults are the loneliest age group — and why that’s okay.
I’m telling you this as someone wading through his 20s right now: Fighting loneliness has been one of the biggest struggles in my life. There have been so many instances where I felt detached, didn’t have anyone to talk to, or was craving human connection.
And make no mistake, I’m not an exception.
Several reports have shown that 16 to 24-year-olds are the loneliest age group. In fact, the world’s largest loneliness study revealed that 41% of them feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘very often.’ In comparison, only 27% of people over 75 reported these feelings. And the second loneliest group? 25 to 34-year-olds. So despite popular belief, loneliness tends to decrease with age. Turns out, feeling lonely in your 20s is extremely normal.
This begs a crucial question: Why?
Why do we feel so lonely and isolated? Why are we so much more at risk? And why does nobody seem to care? Here are five reasons why 20-somethings feel so desperately lonely — and how we might benefit from that.
1. The Silent Pandemic
The numbers I cited above were raised before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. And…
