Do digital environments bring us together or make us more lonely?

June 26, 2026

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

news:

Opinion Piece by a Youth Worker: The Importance of Imagination in Youth Work

At the Lillekese Youth Center, we have always supported young people’s desire and interest in playing fantasy-world games in a physical environment. During our first year of operation, playing “café” was a very popular activity—the café had its own menu, meal times, and waitstaff. An entire room at the youth center was transformed into one big dining area. One of the young people’s biggest favorites this year has been playing “apocalypse.”

So what to do with all this free time—the joys and worries of summer break

Summer is in full swing. Temperatures are climbing steadily, and there’s more and more time to spend at the beach chasing the waves. Summer is a great time to really slow down, put your feet up, and take a few nice, slow breaths. In everyday life and in a society where great emphasis is placed on productivity and rushing around, we tend to

A Youth Worker's Story: The Best Training of My Life—How I Developed My Creativity in Norway

SALTO-YOUTH.net is a real treasure trove. For those who haven’t come across it yet—simply put, it’s a pan-European network for supporting and developing youth work, which offers non-formal learning materials to youth workers and youth leaders and organizes training sessions and networking activities as part of the European Commission’s training strategy. I found a training course titled “Creative Self – Art Practices” in the SALTO training calendar

Philosophizing with Children and Youth

Many 21st-century skills are closely linked to thinking skills. These include, for example, creative and critical thinking, as well as a collaborative and caring mindset. These skills can also be developed in youth work through philosophizing with children and young people. Philosophizing creates more space for discussion and helps participants become more skilled at articulating their opinions, listening to others, making decisions, and

The Tartu Youth Work Brigade’s anniversary summer kicks off with a parade and an evening of work brigade songs

Today, June 15, Tartu will kick off the 30th summer of the Tartu Youth Work Camp, which will bring together 238 young people this year. The opening event of this anniversary year begins at 4:30 p.m. in the courtyard of the Anne Youth Center and proceeds with a parade to Town Hall Square, where the start of the work camp season will be celebrated with a speech by Mayor Urmas Klaas and the taking of the work camp oath. The opening ceremony will be followed at 7 p.m. by an evening of work camp songs in Tartu

Ukrainian Youth in Tartu: A Week That Left a Lasting Impression

In early June, from June 8–14, the Tartu Youth Work Center had the extraordinary honor and pleasure of hosting young people from Ukraine—young people whose lives have been completely turned upside down by the war. The camp was made possible thanks to financial support from the City of Tartu, and the Tartu Youth Work Center wholeheartedly took on the task of organizing the program. The week began creatively—in a stencilling workshop, the young people

A Children's Day bursting with joy and youthful energy!

The theme of this year’s Child Protection Day was the question: “A young person speaks—are you listening?” The need to be seen, heard, and truly listened to became clear right from the first preparatory meeting, where young volunteers had the chance to share which topics they consider important in the daily lives of children and young people. Almost without exception, all participants highlighted today’s fast-paced lifestyle—home,