Vodafone Youth Study: Lonely Youth – Analog Beats Digital

In a new study, the Vodafone Foundation examined feelings of loneliness among young people and also considered the influence of digital offerings. Although young people today can experience community both analogously and digitally, analog encounters do not lose their value. Rather, the research shows: Digital offerings like social media are used by some to feel less lonely, but at the same time, there is a clear connection between intensive social media use and increased feelings of loneliness. Furthermore, analog contacts are perceived as more effective against loneliness than digital ones.

Globally connected and yet lonely

For the study „Generation lonely?“, infratest dimap surveyed 1046 German-speaking young people aged 14 to 20 in Germany via online interviews from May 5 to 18, 2025. To ensure representativeness, the results were weighted according to sociodemographic characteristics.

According to the Vodafone study, and also an investigation by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, young people are now the most affected by loneliness among population groups, whereas previously older and very elderly people were considered particularly affected. The Corona pandemic has brought loneliness burdens more into focus.

In 2025, almost half of young people between the ages of 14 and 20 felt lonely frequently or occasionally. As in the general population, girls and women report suffering from feelings of loneliness more often. The respondents do not see loneliness as a purely personal problem, but as a major societal challenge, "which has gained importance over time." A large majority also supports the statement that the feeling of loneliness among young people has increased in recent years.

The strongest stressors for young people are school stress and pressure to perform, arguments with family or friends, and mental exhaustion. Loneliness or pressure from social media rank lower compared to these factors, but are still perceived as "very strong" or "strong" by almost 50 and 30 percent, respectively (loneliness 48 percent, pressure from social media 29 percent). Furthermore, young people with experiences of loneliness are generally more sensitive to other potential stressors and burdens than young people without these experiences. To seek support against loneliness, the majority of respondents turn to friends (72 percent), parents (66 percent), and also grandparents (19 percent). Only seven percent seek support in online groups or communities.

Only 23 percent of respondents rate the current use of social media against loneliness as helpful, and 22 percent rate the consumption of other online content as helpful. In contrast, 55 percent of respondents consider doing something with friends or engaging in hobbies and sports (34 percent) to be particularly effective. Only three percent state that exchanging ideas in online communities has been helpful so far.

Consuming, not sharing, and getting stuck

If respondents frequently or at least occasionally use social media offerings to feel less lonely, 14- to 20-year-olds with low to medium education do so more often than peers with high education. If young people already have experiences with loneliness, they turn to social media significantly more often at 79 percent. Active exchange about one's own feelings on online platforms plays only a minor role for these young people – they tend to consume content rather than actively engage online. According to the study, this points to "a cycle where loneliness causes young people to spend time on social media – but using it does not reduce feelings of loneliness." Furthermore, these young people may be less able to limit their screen time: "Young people who use social media intensively feel lonely twice as often as young people who use social media little and state that they have no problems limiting their social media use." The fact that young people are aware of problematic usage behavior but often do not know how to change it was already presented by the Vodafone Foundation in a study last fall.

As in other studies, adolescents particularly hope for help from schools and other educational institutions. These should offer support services for young people "burdened by loneliness." At the same time, however, 65 percent of respondents do not feel that their school takes the issue of loneliness seriously. This perhaps explains the seemingly contradictory statement in Figure 4 that only six percent of respondents would seek support from teachers, trainers, or social workers so far. However, the study questions how schools, which are already overburdened, could also dedicate themselves to this task.

(kbe)