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Take a Virtual TourToday we publish Generation Isolation, the largest study of its type into the way 11–18-year-olds spend their free time. Our report reveals that young people want to reduce the amount of time they spend on their phones – but simply don’t know how to break the habit.
We’re calling for better, real-life alternatives to smartphone dependency as our new report shows that smartphone use is now young people’s most dominant free time activity, with almost a quarter (24%) – equivalent to approximately 1.3million young people – spending most of their free time when not in school on their phone.
Our annual report, now in its third year, asked in-depth questions about young people’s smartphone use for the first time this year, and found that over half (52%) of the most prolific smartphone users want to break free from phone addiction, but 46% simply don’t know how.
Generation Isolation is based on a survey of 5,213 11–18-year-olds, in partnership with YouGov. It lays bare the reasons for young people’s smartphone dependency including; 43% of those who spend most of their free time on their phone do so because they are worried about feeling left out from friends; almost a quarter (24%) say they have more friends to talk to on their smartphone than they do in real life; one in five (20%) state they have nothing else to do and (11%) say there is nowhere safe to hang out in real life. A small but significant proportion (5%) say that being on their phone is better than real life – the equivalent to more than one child in every classroom*****.
Worryingly, asked for the first time about levels of loneliness, four in ten (44%) – representing 2.8 million**** young people – said they’d experienced high or very high levels of loneliness this year.
Feelings of loneliness almost match sustained anxiety in this age group. Over half (51%) of those polled stated they’ve experienced high or very high levels of anxiety, compared to 50% in 2023. What’s more, loneliness is feeding the anxiety crisis with 26% of young people who reported anxiety citing loneliness as the reason. When asked about opportunities outside of school, over a third (35%) report not having opportunities to make friends and meet new people outside of school and almost half (48%) of those surveyed spend most of their free time in their bedroom.
Young people are clear about what is needed. Asked what one thing would improve their lives outside school nearly a third (29%) opted for more affordable leisure activities, almost a quarter (24%) wanted more safe and fun places to socialise and 16% want more opportunities to learn skills outside of school.
Generation Isolation shows that the solution to many of the problems young people face today lies in youth clubs, which play a vital role in enabling them to build face-to-face connections and develop skills and resilience.
The vast majority (93%) of young people who attend a youth club say it has made a positive difference to their lives with ‘making friends and social interaction’ being the most popular reason for this, and 89% say their youth club has helped them to develop new skills. Yet despite these clear benefits just 15% of young people attend a youth centre, and almost half (48%) do not have a youth club near them.
Generation Isolation has been released to coincide with National Youth Work Week, an initiative to raise awareness of youth work and youth workers. We’re calling for:
Commenting on the findings, our Chief Executive, Jamie Masraff, said:
“The message from young people is overwhelmingly clear – they want to ditch smartphone dependency and socialise in person, but feel trapped in a habit that is leaving them lonely, isolated and anxious. We are letting young people down by treating time outside of school as an afterthought and not creating enough opportunities in real life that are better than life on screens.
“Without the provision of affordable, safe places to flourish outside of school, we risk a generation becoming adults who struggle to exist in a real-word environment, riddled with social anxiety and lacking in social skills.
“Evidence shows that youth clubs offer rich and vibrant environments where young people, supported by dedicated youth workers, have fun, build confidence, develop life skills and become happy, healthy, thriving adults. Youth provision is the untapped solution to the challenges outlined in Generation Isolation – it must become a right and reality for all young people.”
Maria, 13, has been a member of OnSide’s Legacy Youth Zone in Croydon for a year. She said:
“My phone is my baby. I spend most of my free time on it, I feel anxious if I don’t have it. If I ever lost it I would be so sad. It’s like an addiction. How would I speak to my friends?
“I would like to spend less time on my phone so that I could do other things. I know I spend hours on TikTok but don’t remember a single thing that I’ve watched afterwards. It’s like fast food for your brain.
“I come to Legacy as many nights as I can now so that I can meet new people. You can use your phone here but I don’t because there’s so much going on.”
Bethany Henry is the Play, Youth and Inclusion Manager at OnSide’s Bolton Lads and Girls Club. She said:
“Every day I hear from young people who tell me how grateful they are to have found our youth club. We offer more than 20 different activities every night and hundreds of young people have told me that before finding us they were stuck at home, on their phones, lacking in friends and in confidence.
“Even inside the club phones can be a distraction for our younger members, so our junior sessions for young people aged 8 to 12 are now phone free. There has been little push back, in fact they’re glad of the boundary, and parents and carers tell us they’re grateful as coming here means their children are focusing on making new friends and trying new things.
“We know that young people don’t want to be stuck on screens, but investment in youth services is vital in order to give every young person a safe and affordable alternative to their phone.”
Dr Stacy Moore is an educational and child psychologist. She said:
“The very name “social” media suggests it’s something that should build bonds and connect us but the fact that young people are spending so much of their time outside school on their phone, and yet are reporting such high levels of loneliness and anxiety, is very concerning.
“Rather than making real-life connections and mastering new activities, which build confidence and reinforce a sense of positivity and optimism, phones instead can turn young people into passive recipients who are spending their free time scrolling on a screen, at the expense of experiencing the positive feedback of learning a new sport or skill, which is so crucial to teenage brain development.
“This is not a problem to sort out in the future, we must take action now. Creating fun, affordable and exciting spaces outside school with activities that provide the same pleasure rush as a phone is essential, but buildings themselves aren’t enough. The magic happens when youth workers are there to cheer on, console, encourage and commiserate with young people, taking them off screens and helping them to grow into confident, happy young adults.”
*1.3 million calculation by OnSide based on ONS 2022 mid-year population data.
** Loneliness measure informed by existing well-being scale developed by the ONS.
*** Anxiety measure based on an existing well-being scale developed and reported by the ONS.
**** 2.4 million calculation by OnSide based on ONS 2022 mid-year population data.
***** Average class size in state-funded secondary schools is 22.4 pupils per Government data.
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