Young people in the UK increasingly isolated due to cost of living crisis
4301 Min Read
An exclusive Sky News/Ipsos poll has found that young people are feeling increasingly lonely – with the cost of living crisis leading many to take on extra work, move in with their parents and cut back on socialising.
The poll, conducted in December, found 37% of 18 to 24-year-olds felt lonelier this winter than they did a year earlier.
England’s last remaining COVID regulations were lifted nearly a year ago, but the cost of living crisis means young people are struggling to take advantage of their new freedoms.
The effects of inflation mean almost half of those aged 16 to 25 fear they will never earn enough to start a family, a report found, while other research has found young people are likely to be “cautiously hopeful” but “struggling” in 2023.
But many young people are having to work more than one job to make ends meet.
Some 36% of young people surveyed said that they have less free time than they did a year ago, compared with just 24% of the public as a whole.
Ipsos surveyed 2,235 British adults, including 400 people aged 18 to 24, between the 7 and 9 of December.
It found that 45% of young people had taken on more hours at work since January 2022 due to rising prices, while 21% said they had taken on a second job as a result of the spending squeeze.
And in a bid to avoid rising rents and energy bills, nearly 23% have moved in with family.
