\n<\/p>\n
Growing up as a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant, Huy Andrew Luong struggled to connect to community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m also queer and I have a deep interest in the environment \u2013 things that did not really fit the norms of my upbringing in Sydney\u2019s western suburbs,\u201d the 29-year-old environmental scientist says.<\/p>\n
Even after finding social circles at university, Luong sometimes felt \u201cothered\u201d in a space dominated by white heterosexual men.<\/p>\n
He says he finds it difficult to make new friends in Sydney, where \u201ccommunities often feel segregated and people aren\u2019t always open to making new friends\u201d.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not alone in feeling alone. Australians are more isolated and have fewer friends than they did two decades ago, according to a national study released on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (Hilda) survey, which has tracked the same 16,000 Australians since 2001, revealed a long-term decline in social connectedness that has only worsened since the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Data from the report shows Australians\u2019 self-reported friendship networks have been shrinking since 2010.<\/p>\n
The average score on a scale of one to seven rating agreement with the statement \u201cI seem to have a lot of friends\u201d fell from 4.6 in 2010 to 4.1 in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not see people\u2019s friendship networks growing considerably, nor do we see people socialising much more than they did during the pandemic,\u201d says Dr Inga Lass, a lead author of the Hilda report.<\/p>\n
Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads<\/strong><\/p>\n Growing reliance on digital communication is \u201cthe new normal\u201d, she says, but it does not appear to be a good substitute for in-person relationships.<\/p>\n Dr Marlee Bower, a senior research fellow at the Matilda Centre, says the \u201ctwo-dimensional\u201d nature of social media can extend existing relationships, but lacks reciprocity and shared experiences that give them meaning.<\/p>\n Bower says the pandemic \u201cturbocharged\u201d isolation, particularly for young people who lost everyday interactions \u2013 even mundane \u201cwatercooler talk\u201d that helps ground them in a community.<\/p>\n The decline in friendships has hit young people the hardest, particularly men aged 24\u201344 and women aged 15\u201324, according to Hilda.<\/p>\n While the data shows women have historically had more friends than men, this gap has narrowed to roughly the same average number.<\/p>\n The Hilda report showed that while established friendships persist, building new ones is challenging. Of those who feel they have few friends, less than half improved their friendship score after a year.<\/p>\n When Ebony Casagrande moved to Sydney from Coffs Harbour, the 22-year-old university student found the \u201cease of access to socialising\u201d in her regional hometown replaced by logistical headaches, with long travel times and extensive planning turning socialising into \u201cadmin\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you live in a small town it takes 10 minutes to get anywhere,\u201d she says. That makes for a \u201chuge culture shock\u201d in a bigger city: \u201cThere\u2019s a whole new way of socialising that takes a lot more forethought \u2026 it\u2019s an overwhelming place to navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n Bower says the cost-of-living crisis also makes even simple social outings like coffee or a meal out harder to afford. \u201cYouth is a time of major transition, when people move out of home, starting work or study, and building new identities and networks. That already brings vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to Five Great Reads<\/span><\/p>\n Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n As loneliness rises, so does the use of online companions, such as AI chatbots.<\/p>\n Dr Luke Balcombe, a researcher specialising in AI, has warned that these tools, while offering a sense of emotional support, can also lead to deeper social isolation and unhealthy dependencies.<\/p>\n Balcombe\u2019s research has identified serious risks, including \u201cAI-induced psychosis and digital trauma\u201d, cautioning that AI companions can offer \u201cdelusional support\u201d by \u201cgoing along with\u201d a user\u2019s potentially harmful thinking.<\/p>\n Bower reinforces this, stating that digital connection cannot replace the \u201cmessy\u201d depth of in-person bonds, which are formed through shared experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cDeep friendships form through shared experiences, both the exciting \u2013 like going to a party \u2013 and the mundane \u2013 like sitting through a boring class together,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Despite these risks, Balcombe has acknowledged that AI companions are not \u201call bad\u201d \u2013 but stressed that AI should be a \u201cbridge\u201d towards face-to-face interaction, never a replacement.<\/p>\n The decline in friendships is a likely contributor to the increase in psychological distress seen in the Hilda report. The prevalence of psychological distress has trended upwards since 2013, with the youngest age group (15-24) showing a substantial increase. The report found that a lack of friendships is linked to significantly poorer mental health.<\/p>\n Both Luong and Casagrande say social isolation negatively impacted their mental health. Luong says he \u201cwould rely on drugs just to feel comfortable and sociable\u201d, while Casagrande attributed her \u201cprofound loneliness\u201d to the onset of mental health challenges, leading her to start antidepressants for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cLoneliness isn\u2019t just being alone but it\u2019s worrying why you\u2019re alone and are you broken and is there something wrong with you,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Bower describes loneliness as a public health issue, advocating for investment in community spaces, affordable housing and transport to support mental health.<\/p>\n The data shows that a large friendship network serves as a \u201cstrong protective factor\u201d against poor mental health.<\/p>\n For those struggling, Bower says small steps toward connection can help, such as talking honestly with a trusted person, saying yes to social invitations, or joining groups aligned with your interests.<\/p>\n \u201cOften, people respond with more kindness and openness than we expect.\u201d<\/p>\n In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Growing up as a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant, Huy Andrew Luong struggled to connect to community. \u201cI\u2019m also queer and I have a deep interest in the environment \u2013 things that did not really fit the norms of my upbringing in Sydney\u2019s western suburbs,\u201d the 29-year-old environmental scientist says. Even after finding social circles at university,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[10984,4089,6978,5679,5064,3428,4179],"class_list":{"0":"post-22632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-andrew","9":"tag-australians","10":"tag-feeling","11":"tag-finding","12":"tag-friends","13":"tag-harder","14":"tag-loneliness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Friendships hit by cost of living<\/h2>\n
The rise of online companionship<\/h2>\n
Loneliness as a public health issue<\/h2>\n