Number of young people with no close friends has soared since 2014 in England

Youth club closures, unaffordable housing and social media cited as factors contributing to a sharp decline in wellbeing

The number of young people with no close friends has risen fivefold since 2014 as a result of growing up in a “bleak world” dominated by austerity, the pandemic and social media.

New research paints a sobering picture of how 11- to 24-year-olds in England are increasingly lonely, isolated and “disconnected” from themselves, peers and wider society.

“Young people in England are becoming dramatically more isolated from one another, with one in 20 now reporting that they have no close friends at all, up from one in 100 in 2014,” according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank called “the loneliest generation”.

Among the same age group to which that friendlessness applied – 16- to 21-year-olds – the proportion with at least three close friends also fell significantly. The number saying they had that many friends fell from 85% in 2012-14 to 72% in 2023-25, IPPR found.

The report rejected the idea that today’s generation was less resilient than its predecessors. Instead, it said youth club closures, unaffordable housing, the popularity of TikTok and a loss of self-esteem among young people had contributed to a recent sharp decline in their mental wellbeing.

Young people’s relationships also appeared less strong than before. The proportion of 14- and 15-year-olds who were completely or very happy with their friendships fell from 86% to 76% between the periods 2012-14 and 2023-25.

“The foundations of a good adolescence have eroded. A generation are coming of age in the shadow of a digital childhood, a pandemic and the erosion of the services and spaces that once helped them navigate the journey to adulthood,” the report said.

At the same time, young people’s transition to adulthood had been blocked and their childhood prolonged. “The traditional indicators of early adulthood are all happening much later, leaving young people in a longer, hollower and more precarious adolescence,” said IPPR.

According to the report, buying and renting a house had become harder, with the average age of a first-time buyer now 34 and nearly one in five young people spending half of their income on rent.

The reduced number of 16- to 24-year-olds starting an apprenticeship and the growth of “Neets” – young adults who are not in education, employment or training – was also deemed to be preventing them from becoming independent adults.

“Ever more young people are stuck in limbo: they are no longer children and yet are unable to access adult life,” the report added.

“Kids aren’t snowflakes. This is a rational response to a bleak world we have left for them”, said Avnee Morjaria, an associate director with the thinktank.

“We have stripped away too many of the places, services and routes into adulthood that help young people build confidence, connection and hope,” she said.