Adults Turn to Groups and Shared Activities to Combat Loneliness, Guardian Report Finds
As concern grows over social isolation, people describe joining clubs and setting up activities to build new friendships later in life.
Amid growing concern about loneliness and social isolation, new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) cited by The Guardian found that the number of young people in England with no close friends has risen fivefold since 2014, with one in 20 now reporting having none at all.
According to the report, making new friends as an adult is often difficult, prompting some people to take deliberate steps to build new social connections.
The Guardian spoke with several individuals who described joining community groups and organizing shared activities as ways to meet new people and form lasting relationships.
Those interviewed said that structured activities, such as clubs and organized meetups, provided a natural setting for building friendships that might otherwise be hard to establish in adulthood.
The IPPR research underscores broader concerns about rising social isolation among young people in England, a trend that has drawn increasing attention from researchers and policymakers.
The Guardian's report highlights personal accounts of community-building efforts as part of a wider conversation about addressing loneliness in modern society.
Sources
- ‘Amazing community’: how people are making new friends and connections as adults — The Guardian — World
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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