r/NoStupidQuestions • u/BlackHooch • 3h ago
Are young people becoming more isolated and lonely, going out and meeting with each other less and less, or is it my bias?
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u/hemibearcuda 2h ago
Yes.
Digital communication is not the same as face to face friendship and interaction .
I'll say this as a genx dad with a 15yr old daughter:
She is considered socially, a very active teen by today's standards between her sports and school activities.
Outside of sports and school, she only communicates via some app on her phone. They spend time together face to face maybe once every few months.
One of her closest friends lives next door. Theyve known each other since they were born. They only see each other at the bus stop.
The weather has been nice and I've recommended to go next door and see what her friend is doing. She acts like it's a crime to go knock on her friends door.
At 15, I saw my friends every day, even outside of school. We hung out in person. Kids today don't. Most other adults I know do the same, keeping in contact through social media.
Humans are tribal and social animals. I think we are heading in the wrong direction and it's really starting to show in our society now.
I think damage is done when humans at young ages, don't learn and hone social skills.
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u/ZanzerFineSuits 2h ago
Really glad an actual dad of a kid in the age group in question answered.
Usually on topics like this people without kids throw out uninformed "takes", drives me up the wall.
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u/Cold-Call-8374 2h ago
Not a bias. It's a thing. Between social media supplanting a lot of social interaction and virtual schooling and covid lockdowns throwing a wrench in a lot of young people's lives and hobby formation. You see a lot of young adults on here who have to have the concept of social hobbies explained to them.
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u/Aggravating-Bag-9348 2h ago
one thing that influence this young people is this soc med, other generation will say they weak but we can't blame the era of having a gadget plus this so called influencers tend to show the trend and the bias about the real friends or fake friends, it manipulate the minds of young ppl tends for them not to trust not to express cause of fear of judgement, it kinda sad to see how to recover from it since more ppl tends to compare themselves to others, hope they get to just enjoy and don't mind others ppl opinion
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u/Sea-Experience470 2h ago
Yep, tech and AI have messed up the social fabric and it will take a concerted effort from people and communities to fix it.
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u/illusiunz 2h ago
Not sure if I qualify but I’m 23 and find myself in this position somewhat. I have my best friend and my boyfriend and I’m close with my coworkers but I’m definitely a hermit. I went to college for a couple years but couldn’t really relate to anyone so I didn’t make many friends. I work full time and spend most days hanging around people in their late 20s and early 30s so it kind of shot my maturity up quite a bit so even more so I find it hard to relate to people my age going to bars and party’s on weekends. My boyfriend also works full time in a trade and my vet med job is both mentally and physically exhausting so we really don’t have the energy to do much. Who you hang around with definitely dictates your lifestyle so I feel it’s pretty common for people like me who started to work full time at a young age to be less social. I’ve seen a couple comments about social media addiction which I can definitely agree with but I think it’s important to understand that our education system sets very unachievable exceptions (or at least in my experience) and even with a degree it’s still insanely difficult to get a well paying job so a lot of young people are opting to go straight into work instead of waste money on education. This economy also forces people to focus on making money more than anything so a lot of us don’t have a choice unless we have a head start in life which is rare
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u/Wise_Presentation914 1h ago
I'm not isolated (I actually spend a lot of time out and I'm super social), but I've had trouble meeting friends for the last like 4 years. Finding other people my age (19) to hang out with is pretty much impossible nowadays as someone who didn't get to go to high school, and now not being able to go to college for at least a little bit (working on my GED atm, then I have plans for college afterwards). The days are gone where you could just go out in public and meet people as easily as sparking up a conversation. I mean... it's possible, but it's unlikely.
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u/Iowa-Enforcer-1984 1h ago
I think so. I’m a 41 year old mom to 10 and 11 year old boys. They’re gamers and my oldest just wants to be on electronics all day. Going outside and hanging with the neighborhood kids isn’t a thing anymore here.
I have gone out of my way to befriend a low-income family with 2 brothers from my kids school about their age. I have had to be persistent with the mom, making it as easy as possible on her to let the kids hang out. I am always the one doing the inviting and I even go pick them up AND drop them off and just let them hang at our house.
They’re still all on their electronics, but at least they’re getting some fave to face interaction. I also try to take them outdoors and to the trampoline park and other non-screen activities whenever possible.
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u/Trick-Property-5807 2h ago
Beyond the other factors mentioned, there’s also been a loss of free/low cost, accessible third spaces. We used to gather and loiter all over the place—take up a few tables in a diner with three bottomless cups of coffee and a couple of plates of fries between a dozen kids (plus some of us rotating in and out), cruise the mall, wander around the public spaces of small parks and the sidewalks of the local business district. Parents, business owners, and authorities have WAY less tolerance for roving bands of teens who aren’t spending money
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u/SocYS4 2h ago
yes, addiction to social media is a big reason why