According to a report published by Onward, a think tank based in Britain, over 20% of Brits between the ages of 18 to 34 have either just ‘one or no close friends’.

The report goes on to describe the situation as an “epidemic of loneliness.”

Onward added that the number of people who have only ‘one or no good friends’ has tripled from 7% to 22% over the past ten years, and this coincided with a decline in the number of people with four good friends that fell from 64% to 40% over the same period.

Will Tanner, who serves as director of Onward, added:

“After decades of community decline and fifteen months of rolling lockdowns, young people have fewer friends, trust people less, and are more alienated from their communities than ever before. And it is getting worse with every generation.”

READ: ‘Epidemic of Loneliness’: One-Fifth of UK Under-35s Have Just One or No Close Friends

The study described the epidemic as generational, noting that each generation is becoming more isolated than the one previous, and it is having a negative impact on the social fabric of society.

Of course, people on Facebook have hundreds of friends, but they are just not real. According to recent stats, the average person has 350 friends, with teens having an average of 650 friends.

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