Loneliness: Does being online help or make it worse?

Does going online make you feel more or less lonely?

That’s what we want to know, after results from a survey by Girlguiding show that girls have different opinions about this.

The figures, revealed exclusively by Newsround, show that 15% of seven to 10-year-olds said they feel that being online and comparing their life to others can contribute to feelings of loneliness. One in three 11 to 16-year-olds felt the same.

Kate Roberts, 18, from Girlguiding said: “This survey shows that loneliness is an important issue facing girls and young women. Even girls who regularly see their friends can still feel lonely if they go out without them knowing and then they see images on social media. This can cause girls to feel lonely and isolated.”.

But interestingly, some girls said they felt quite the opposite about going online.

One in five 7 to 10-year-olds said that they feel being online – for example, using social media, like YouTube and Instagram – helps them to feel less lonely, while three in ten 11 to 16-year-olds felt this way.

So we want to know what you think. Let us know in the vote below and read on to find out more about what the results said about the issue of loneliness.

Is loneliness a new issue for young girls?

It is not the first time that loneliness has been in the news recently. Recent surveys suggest that it is an issue that is increasingly affecting young people – especially girls.

Just last week, the Office for National Statistics released figures that suggested about one in 10 young people (aged between 10 and 24) in the UK often feel lonely.

Over one in three said they sometimes felt lonely – and it was in fact more girls who felt this way than boys.

The figures also showed that some young people used social media to “cover up” their feelings.

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ONS figures suggest that feelings of loneliness affect girls more than boys

Earlier this year, Childline reported that more children were seeking help from the charity for problems with loneliness.

It, too, said that social media may be causing more children to have these feelings.

What causes loneliness in young people?

There are many factors that might cause a young person – whether it’s a girl or a boy – to feel lonely. The Girlguiding results showed that it wasn’t just being online that can do this.

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Girls said there are other factors too that they think are likely to contribute to girls and young women feeling like this. These included:

• Not having anybody to talk to
• Not feeling like anyone understands
• Finding it hard to make friends
• Not having enough opportunities to try new and fun things
• Not feeling safe going outside
• The area where you live – e.g. in the country, lack of public transport, less to do in the area

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What can help to deal with loneliness?

In this most recent survey, being online didn’t come top of the list of ways that could help girls to feel less lonely.

Just under three quarters of 7 to 10-year-olds (72%) thought that talking to a friend could help to do this.

Talking to family members, doing activities or playing with pets, taking part in activities like art or sport, being part of a youth group, going outdoors and helping other people were also listed as good ways to deal with lonely feelings.

What should you do if you’re worried?

If you are at all worried about anything that you have read in this article, or if you’re worried that you or someone you know is experiencing feelings of loneliness, it’s important that you speak to somebody about how you feel.

This might be an adult that you trust like a parent, another family member or a teacher.

Or you can ring Childline for free on 0800 1111 or contact them online.

For more help and advice about your online life, the BBC has lots of videos, games and much more at BBC Own It.