1 min readBy Celina Ribeiro
‘There’s a lot of silence’: have we created a new ‘Lonely Generation’?
By Celina RibeiroZimbabwe

Learning to be one human among many has always been a little lonely and discombobulating. But young people around the world are lonelier than ever. Why?
In September, a Reddit user identifying themselves as a 25-year-old man turned to the r/ForeverAlone subreddit with a question: How do you deal with touch starvation? “It’s becoming obvious to me that I’ll probably be alone forever,” he wrote. He used to be worried about missing out on sex, but now he just misses hugs. Cuddles.
“I don’t have many friends and none with that kind of physical relationship. I don’t really hug family either anymore. Some days, I feel so desperate for a hug with someone I love.”
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About this article
- Length
- 118 words · 1 min read
- Published
- October 3, 2026
- Byline
- Celina Ribeiro
- Source
- The Guardian