A representative survey shows that 18 to 39 year olds in particular suffer from loneliness in this country. The alarming thing is that many of these young people can no longer get out of phases of social withdrawal. This often results in damage to health.
Loneliness: In the popular imagination, this is something that mainly affects old people. Friends die, the ranks become thinner, people themselves become more immobile – and at some point you feel very alone. This is actually true for many very old people. But they are not the ones who suffer the most from loneliness.
In fact, the people most affected are young people between the ages of 18 and 39. 68 percent of them say that they experience feelings of loneliness. For those aged 40 to 59 it is 53 percent and for those over 60 it is 52 percent. This is the result of the loneliness report from the Techniker-Krankenkasse (TK), for which the opinion research institute Forsa surveyed 1,403 selected people across Germany by telephone. Loneliness was described as “the unpleasant feeling you get when your social relationships are not what you would like them to be.”
Of the 68 percent of young people who say they experience feelings of loneliness, five percent say they are often lonely, 17 percent are sometimes lonely and 46 percent are rarely lonely. Nevertheless, these numbers are higher than in all other age groups.
And what's even more serious: young people are not only affected by loneliness, they also feel more burdened by it. 36 percent of younger people who have experienced loneliness feel rather strongly or even very strongly burdened by it. For middle-aged people it is 19 percent and for those over 60 it is 21 percent.
For Janosch Schobin, a sociologist at the University of Göttingen and an expert in the federal government's Loneliness Competence Network, this is a warning sign. “Fundamentally, loneliness as a sensation is useful. Neuropsychologists assume that this is a modification of the perception of pain, which alerts people to social damage and provides an impulse to invest in relationships and form new relationships. Especially in young adulthood after leaving home, there are a lot of problems Many development tasks that go hand in hand with the restructuring of the social network.
“Feelings of loneliness are actually productive because they provide an impulse to get through this phase,” says Schobin. “But for some people it goes wrong.” They withdraw further and further into themselves.” He also suspects the after-effects of the pandemic are behind this. “The period of loneliness at a young age has lengthened and expanded.”
“Increased risk of illness”
The technician health insurance company that commissioned the report was particularly interested in the health effects of loneliness. And they are serious. People who sometimes or even often feel lonely suffer significantly from stress and exhaustion, fatigue, low mood, sleep disorders and anxiety than people who rarely or never feel lonely. “Research agrees that chronic loneliness has been shown to increase the risk of mental and physical illnesses,” says Jens Baas, CEO of TK.
He called it particularly problematic that many people are unable to communicate their feelings of loneliness to others. Affected men in particular don't seem to like talking about it. Only 22 percent of male respondents who know the feeling of loneliness say that they at least sometimes talk about it with other people. For women it is 40 percent. One in three men (33 percent) and one in five women (20 percent) have never confided in anyone.
This is often based on the desire not to be a burden to anyone. This was stated by 58 percent of those who had not yet spoken about their loneliness. 29 percent say they are uncomfortable admitting they feel lonely. “It turns out that loneliness is still a big taboo topic. “It doesn’t fit into a performance-oriented world, the idea of a happy life,” said Baas. “But negative feelings can build up, create stress and, in the worst case, make you sick.”
Almost a quarter of lonely people, 23 percent, rated their health as “poor” or “less good”. Among those who rarely or never feel lonely, it was only 13 percent. While it was long assumed that illness was the cause of people withdrawing and becoming lonely, there is clear evidence in new research that loneliness itself can also make you sick, said sociologist Shobin. “Loneliness is a stressor, as elementary as hunger or pain.” In other words, a signal to which the individual should react as quickly as possible. If this doesn’t happen, it promotes the development of certain diseases.”
But how can loneliness be combated effectively? Ideas for this will be provided, among other things, by the Loneliness Competence Network financed by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, which scientifically deals with the causes and consequences of loneliness, bundles prevention measures and promotes communication on the subject. On a map, the network lists postcode-specific offers for people of all age groups to socialize.
One example is the “Girls Talking & Walking” women's walks initiated by Vivien Eller from Frankfurt, which are now offered in several German cities based on the American model and which interested women can join spontaneously. “Most of them are between 25 and 35 years old – at an age where you often move again and are no longer integrated into clear structures,” said Eller. “Here you can talk to other women without obligation and make contacts.”
Political editor Sabine Menkens is responsible for family, social and educational policy at WELT.
