Have you ever had the experience of chatting with friends on Snapchat, Instagram, or Discord all day long, but still feeling lonely in the evening? It might seem strange—how can we feel lonely when we’re connected to others almost all the time?
Loneliness is a topic that is being discussed more and more. According to the World Health Organization, about one in six people experience loneliness, and young people experience it most frequently (WHO, 2025). However, loneliness does not simply mean a lack of friends; rather, it is a feeling that arises when our relationships do not meet our needs or expectations (Alberti, 2019). So it may be that we have many friends, yet we still feel lonely. Digital environments have become a natural part of life; there, we can share photos, videos, and thoughts with one another and stay connected even when meeting in person isn’t possible. This kind of use of digital environments helps alleviate loneliness by strengthening existing friendships, not replacing them (Valkenburg et al., 2021). The digital environment allows young people to find people and communities where they feel safe to open up, express themselves, and make friends, offering them support and a sense of belonging (Holmarsdottir et al., 2024).
However, digital environments also have a dark side: social media is full of posts showcasing the best moments of other people’s lives—their best physiques, their best trips, faces retouched to perfection, and exaggeratedly joyful moments—without any context. These posts can lead to social comparison, which undermines self-satisfaction, thereby affecting our self-esteem and increasing feelings of loneliness (Valkenburg et al., 2021; Haidt & Rausch, 2026). Another downside is when we use digital platforms and smart devices to ward off a bad mood. A study conducted in Australia found that young people who tried to alleviate loneliness or sadness through digital environments did feel better in the moment, but experienced more negative emotions and greater loneliness the following day than before, suggesting that constantly escaping behind a screen may not solve the problem but rather exacerbates it (Scott et al., 2024).
Therefore, the most important question is not how much time a young person spends online. What is far more important is how they use that time. Does digital communication help maintain meaningful relationships and support well-being, or does it instead lead to dissatisfaction with oneself and deepen loneliness?
Sources used:
Alberti, F. B. (2019). A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion. Oxford University Press.
World Health Organization. (2025). From Loneliness to Social Connection: Charting a Path to Healthier Societies: Report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection.
Haidt, J., & Rausch, Z. (2026). Social media is harming adolescents on a scale large enough to cause changes at the population level. In World Happiness Report 2026.
Holmarsdottir, H., Seland, I., & Hyggen, C. (2024). How can we understand the everyday digital lives of children and young people? In Understanding the Everyday Digital Lives of Children and Young People.
Scott, R. A., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Gardner, A. A., et al. (2024). Daily use of digital technologies to feel better: Adolescents’ digital emotion regulation, emotions, loneliness, and recovery. Journal of Adolescence, 96, 539–550.
Author: Greete Kurrusk, youth worker at the Lillekese Youth Center
