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.

As a result, IFS's data found that a full 56% of young men regularly gamble (23% daily, 12% several times a week, and 21% weekly or less). The survey further found that online addictions like gambling and pornography are have devastating effects on the mental health of young men. "Of those who watch pornography many times a day or more, 43% experience loneliness, 36% feel depressed, and 29% are anxious," IFS reported. In addition, "66% of daily gamblers and 63% of daily pornography watchers, compared to 42% of men as a whole, report feeling like a failure."

Not surprisingly, this demoralized state of mind has left a vast swath of young men feeling dismal about their economic prospects. The survey found that about half agreed with the statement, "No matter how hard I work, people like me will never achieve the American Dream." This pessimism is further exhibited by 72% agreeing that "Who you know is more important than ability or hard work in getting ahead."

Still, a remarkable majority of young men remain ambitious about their prospects, with 84% insisting that they have "ambitious goals for my future," 81% maintaining that they "can do just about anything I really set my mind to," and 75% saying they "feel confident that my opportunities in life will be greater than my parents'."

Davis, Toscano, and Burchfiel conclude their report by arguing that rebuilding a sense of structure in American society will be key to harnessing the ambition that so many young men still have in order to unleash their full potential.

"Though typically centered on education and employment, the loss of 'structure' we discerned running through the survey responses also extends to wider issues," they observe. "The social fabric itself has thinned, a deinstitutionalization, as sociologists call it, that has left our world more formless. Over time, there has been a sharp decline of prescribed roles, inherited life courses, clear occupational and educational trajectories, and the like. Where there was once a given social pattern, an 'institution,' like sustained work for the same company, there is now a more open and indeterminate field of options and choices. A precarious freedom, with less guidance from shared beliefs, customs, rules, or forms of life."

As they go on to contend, the loss of traditional male jobs has greatly contributed to this loss of structure. "Real wages for young men have stagnated or declined in recent decades for such reasons as the offshoring of manufacturing, cheap migrant labor, and the steady elimination of private-sector labor unions. And the loss of male jobs has continued, accelerated by the pandemic. Other shifts have increased the volatility of the economy, such as the rise of unstable gig work, the disruption of new technologies, and now the looming threat of job loss due to AI."

While lawmakers and industries have a clear role to play in reinstilling societal stability, perhaps the most important reforms must happen within America's institutions, the authors observe. "[W]ith the long-running decline of voluntary associations -- churches, service clubs, adult sports leagues, and the like -- and the instability of the family (only about 60% of our respondents had the consistent presence of his father), young men are thrown back on themselves to find and create relationships of commitment and friendship."

As this latest survey makes clear, rebuilding the support structures around the family that create a moral framework, community networks, and social support -- primarily churches and schools -- will be key in helping young men harness their sense of self-worth and renew their drive to succeed.

Originally published at The Washington Stand