SOCIAL-MEDIA images showing the glamorous lives of celebrities could be fuelling a reported rise in loneliness among young Islanders, experts believe.
A major new health report has revealed that 39% of people aged 16 to 34 felt lonely ‘some of the time or often’.
The figure was higher than that for those aged 55 or over (25%) – an age group which has traditionally seen far higher levels of loneliness brought on by social isolation.
Professor Peter Bradley, Jersey’s director of public health, said exposure to social-media content was believed to be partly causing the problem.
‘It might be to do with expectations generated through social media,’ he said. ‘I would not put the whole of the blame on social media, but younger people do see these images and see the lives that celebrities are living and they think about whether they are levelling up to the likes of this.
‘As people get older their expectations change as they develop a more mature view.’
He added: ‘There is quite a lot that can be done through education and managing younger people’s expectations. It is something we have seen elsewhere, such as in the UK, so we are not alone. But we do need to recognise it as a problem, as it is quite a striking finding that more young people than old say they are lonely.’
Professor Bradley also highlighted other reports which painted a worrying picture of the state of young people’s mental health.
The Public Mental Health Profile found that one in four children in Jersey say they have low or medium self-esteem, and a separate report found that 29% of children in Years 10 and 12 have thought about self-harming.
Professor Bradley stressed that Jersey was not alone in facing these issues, and also cited recent positive trends, including a decrease in alcohol consumption among young people.
The Jersey Health Profile, which Professor Bradley described as ‘a major component’ that will help inform the public-health strategy and which provides an insight into various aspects of the population’s health, as well as information on life expectancy, lifestyle and mental wellbeing, highlighted several key findings – including statistics around anxiety, loneliness and socialisation.
It showed that around 8,600 adults and a further 5,460 pensioners were found to be living alone at the time of the 2021 census.
Some 27% of people scored high for anxiety, while 30% of people felt lonely ‘some of the time or often’.
The statistic varied between age groups – standing at 25% for those aged 55 years or over and 39% of those aged 16 to 34.
Professor Bradley said the issue of loneliness was ‘perfectly possible to address within the health strategy’, and there was ‘a lot going on’ in terms of charities and other organisations seeking to combat the issue in the Island.
One such organisation, Mind Jersey, launched its new mental-health drop-in service at the Seale Street corner of the Town Hall in December – where anyone aged 18 and above can come in to have a chat and make friends.
The charity’s executive director, Dr Patricia Tumelty, said: ‘We know from broader research that loneliness and a lack of socialisation can be linked to poor health outcomes.
‘Something we need to consider is whether we have a general assessment of loneliness and when we know that it has reached a level that is not OK, where it is interfering with our day-to-day lives and affecting our mental health and wellbeing.’
She described the drop-in service as ‘a good example’ of the community coming together to address the issue.
‘The people who use our services designed and shaped it,’ she added.
