Half of Young Men Struggling with Isolation, Screen Addictions, Job Worries

New survey data is further confirming an alarming trend of increased loneliness, social isolation, and addictions to pornography and gambling among young men in the U.S., all while grappling with economic concerns. At the same time, the report noted that the vast majority of young men remain ambitious about their future.

In an extensive report released Wednesday by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), authors Joseph E. Davis, Michael Toscano, and Ken Burchfiel analyzed survey data taken from a pool of 2,000 young men aged 18-29.

Among the survey’s major findings was that over half feel lonely (55%) or isolated (54%), with 40% saying they have two or fewer close friends and one in 10 saying they have no close friends. This isolation appears to be exacerbated by a low participation rate in the community, as only 31% of young men report working as a volunteer and “even fewer are members of a faith-based group (29%), social club (27%), adult sports league (24%), or other type of civic organization,” IFS notes.

But as IFS observed, the data showed that this institutional disconnect is key to why so many young men are lonely. “The best predictor of having three or more friends is connection to institutions like marriage, church, and school,” the report explained. “Young men who participated in all-male groups, such as sports teams or the Boy Scouts, during the school years are also more likely to report three or more friends (64%) than those who did not (48%).”

The report also revealed a further glaring contributor to why so many young men are socially isolated: almost half appear to be addicted to screens. The survey found that 44% play video games “many times a day or more,” with another 42% “doing so at least a few times a week.” Far more alarming is that 43% consume online pornography either daily (27%) or several times per week (16%). Social media use is virtually ubiquitous at 70%, with 30% on it “almost constantly” and 40% “many times a day.” A tiny 4% of young men “say they do not use any platform.”

Another worrying addiction IFS’s data uncovered is online gambling, a phenomenon that barely existed among young men just a few short years ago. As the report highlighted, sports and event betting “almost overnight … has become another fixture in the lives of young men” following the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling striking down the federal ban on sports betting. The ruling led to the explosion in popularity of sports betting apps such as DraftKings and FanDuel as well as “prediction market” apps like Polymarket and Kalshi, which offer virtually unlimited betting 24/7 on almost any sports competition or event.

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