Facebook generation ‘loneliest among all age groups’

November 02, 2010 03:36 pm | Updated November 02, 2016 12:52 pm IST - London

Britain's Facebook generation (16-24 year olds) are the loneliest among all age groups, a survey conducted for BBC radio 3 has found. File Photo: AP/The Canadian Press

Britain's Facebook generation (16-24 year olds) are the loneliest among all age groups, a survey conducted for BBC radio 3 has found. File Photo: AP/The Canadian Press

Britain’s “Facebook generation” — the 16 to 24-year-olds — are the loneliest among all age groups, a survey has revealed.

In the survey, one in three said that they were bored with their lives compared to just eight per cent of pensioners and 28 per cent complained loneliness was making them unhappy and so they are taking to drinking.

More than a quarter of the Facebook generation revealed they turned to alcohol for comfort, and half admitted to using junk food as an emotional crutch, found the poll conducted for ‘BBC Radio 3’

Asked what made them unhappy, 70 per cent of the 16 to 24 year-olds said finances topped their list of concerns. More than a third were worried about holding down a job, compared to a quarter of middle-aged respondents.

One in three said they were tormented by family or relationship problems, and they were also the age group that were most likely to struggle over their social status. But money was the biggest cause of unhappiness across all age groups, above work, relationships and loneliness.

But while older age groups shared the Facebook generation’s finance fears, they were more fulfilled in other areas of their lives. Almost a third of the youngest generation reported they had relationship problems which dropped to eight per cent among 55 to 64-year-olds, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

And one in three of the Facebook generation said they wanted to move abroad in search of happiness.

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings said: “There’s nothing wrong with social networking, but if it’s used instead of face-to-face meetings or phone calls than it can be very isolating. Real friendships are made through bonds and shared experiences and bonds. Some social networking ‘friends’ are barely even acquaintances.”

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