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YouGov called millennials "the loneliest generation" based on a 2019 survey that polled 1,254 US adults. It found that millennials were more likely to feel lonely than previous generations. Of survey respondents, 30% of millennials said they always or often felt lonely, compared with 20% of Gen X and 15% of boomers.
More millennials reported in the survey that they had no acquaintances, friends, close friends, or best friends.
And a 2018 Cigna survey of 20,000 Americans found that many reported feeling lonely and left out. They were more likely than older adults to say they lacked meaningful relationships, shared ideas and interests with others, and closeness with others.
Millennials don't always have someone with whom to share their mental burdens; they're less likely to have social support than other generations, as they're marrying later and are less connected to political or religious communities, according to Time's Ducharme.
None of this is a good recipe for social distancing, which may take an even heavier toll on millennials living alone or struggling with anxiety or depression, Benjamin F. Miller, a psychologist and the chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust, a national foundation focusing on mental and spiritual health, told The New York Times.
"Many of our millennials already feel socially disconnected, and this exacerbates those ongoing feelings these folks already had," he said.