Young people more likely to be lonely: Study

London - "Contrary to what people may expect, loneliness is not a predicament unique to older people"

Loneliness may decrease as you age. Researchers have found that young people and men in "individualistic" societies are more likely to be lonely than older people and women.
Individualistic society is characterised by individualism, which is the prioritisation or emphasis of the individual over the entire group. For the findings, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the research team analysed data on more than 46,000 people aged 16-99 across 237 countries and territories, who took part in an online survey for the BBC's Loneliness Experiment.
The study carried out by Exeter, Manchester and Brunel universities, found that a young man living in an individualistic society - such as the UK or the US - is more likely to report feeling lonely than an older woman in a collectivist society - such as China or Brazil.
"Contrary to what people may expect, loneliness is not a predicament unique to older people. In fact, younger people report greater feelings of loneliness," said study researcher Manuela Barreto from the University of Exeter in the UK. Since loneliness stems from the sense that one's social connections are not as good as desired, this might be due to the different expectations younger and older people hold.
"The age pattern we discovered seems to hold across many countries and cultures," Barreto said.
"There is an awareness that admitting to feeling 'lonely' can be especially stigmatising for men," said study author Pamela Qualter from the University of Manchester.
"However, when this word is not used in the measures, men sometimes report more loneliness than women. This is indeed what we found," Qualter added.