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voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
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Generation Isolation survey about young people's out of school activities
Created: 18/11/2024
News/Events Category: Children and Families
A new report called Generation Isolation shines a spotlight on young people’s social lives by learning more about the 85% of time they spend outside of school. The research also shows the impact of screen time on young people, as smartphones are the most time-consuming activity outside of school.
Generation Isolation is based on a survey by OnSide of 5,213 11–18-year-olds, in partnership with YouGov. It lays bare the reasons for young people’s smartphone dependency including:
- 43% of those who spend most of their free time on their phone do so because they are worried about feeling left out from friends
- Almost a quarter (24%) say they have more friends to talk to on their smartphone than they do in real life
- One in five (20%) state they have nothing else to do
- 11% say there is nowhere safe to hang out in real life
- A small but significant proportion (5%) say that being on their phone is better than real life
Worryingly, asked for the first time about levels of loneliness, four in ten (44%) said they’d experienced high or very high levels of loneliness this year.
Feelings of loneliness almost match sustained anxiety in this age group. Over half (51%) of those polled stated they’ve experienced high or very high levels of anxiety, compared to 50% in 2023. What’s more, loneliness is feeding the anxiety crisis with 26% of young people who reported anxiety citing loneliness as the reason. When asked about opportunities outside of school, over a third (35%) report not having opportunities to make friends and meet new people outside of school and almost half (48%) of those surveyed spend most of their free time in their bedroom.
Young people are clear about what is needed. Asked what one thing would improve their lives outside school nearly a third (29%) opted for more affordable leisure activities, almost a quarter (24%) wanted more safe and fun places to socialise and 16% want more opportunities to learn skills outside of school.
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