A national survey by Relationships Australia has indicated that Generation Y, who always stays connected with others through social networking sites, is the loneliest generation.
According to the Relationships Indicators Survey 2011, 30 per cent of Australians aged 25 to 34 told the survey that they were frequently lonely, far more than any other age group. The second loneliest were the young adults – with 19 per cent of them claiming to be frequently lonely.
The survey, which polled 1204 adults this year, highlighted connections between online life and loneliness. The frequently lonely were much more likely to try online dating, and to use several forms of social media (particularly Facebook ) to maintain friendships.
Melbourne University philosopher Damon Young said Generation Y is lonelier because people don’t know how to be alone.
“People who are constantly connected electronically find being alone very difficult, so it’s not that these people are necessarily more alone; it’s that they feel it more keenly. I would guess that older people who haven’t been continually saturated with information are actually able to stand their own company,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Young as saying.
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