Loneliness a Key Concern for Thousands of Children

Date: 2nd May 2017
Category: Mental health

Thousands of young people are reaching out to Childline for help with feelings of loneliness and isolation as they struggle with the pressures of growing up in today's society.

Childline began recording loneliness as a specific issue of concern after counsellors saw a rise in young people who felt invisible, misunderstood or isolated last year. Figures from Childline revealed that there were 4,063 counselling sessions about loneliness last year (2016/17). Of these, 73% of counselling sessions were with girls.

Childline counsellors were told that young people compare themselves to others on social media, making them feel 'ugly' and 'unpopular'. Others may feel lonely if they're struggling to fit in after moving house or schools, falling out with friends or losing someone close to them.

• Read more about this here.