The Lost Generation:
The Price the Younger Generation Pays For Being Always Online
More connected than ever – but also alone? Amid our always-online culture, debates rage on the impact this 24-hour engagement has on both our mental and physical health. On the plus side: the STADA Health Report 2024 suggests Europeans’ mental health is quite stable compared to data from previous years. But on the negative side: an alarming trend is emerging – despite reporting higher levels of overall happiness than other groups, young Europeans are struggling significantly more with their mental health. The reasons are manifold – and only partly self-induced.
Majority of Europeans feel happy
Two in three (67) Europeans describe themselves as “quite” or “very happy”; another one in four (26) are sitting somewhere in the middle, oscillating between “neither happy nor unhappy”, and 7 percent are (very) unhappy – on the surface, not too concerning. But while one might expect Scandinavian countries to come out on top as the happiest people in Europe, as recently presented by the data collected for the World Happiness Report 2024[1], the STADA Health Report paints a different picture.
While people in Finland (65), Denmark (67) and Sweden (63) report average or even slightly below-average levels of individual happiness, they are trumped by Uzbekistan (87), the Netherlands (80), Ireland (77), France (74), the UK and Switzerland (73 each). A common trend, however, echoes the throughout the findings from the STADA Health Report 2024: generally speaking, happiness decreases with age. Among 18 to 34-year-old Europeans, 72 percent are “quite” or “very happy”, compared to 67 percent of middle-aged Europeans and 65 percent of people above the age of 55. But are subjective levels of happiness a prerequisite to good mental health? Does happiness make us well?
[1] Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J.-E., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (Eds.). (2024). World Happiness Report 2024. University of Oxford: Wellbeing Research Centre.
Mental health of Europeans is getting worse
While sound mental health ratings surged by 10 percentage points to 67 percent from 2022 to 2023, today 65 percent of Europeans rate their mental well-being as “good” or “very good”. Eastern European countries seem to have an ambivalent relationship with mental health: countries like Romania (85) and Bulgaria (80) report good mental health, while nations like Hungary (48) and the Czech Republic (53) report having comparatively poorer mental health. Men (69) rate their mental health significantly more positively than women (61). Looking at generational differences, Europeans above the age of 55 lead with 70 percent, followed by those between the ages of 35–54 (64) and young Europeans bringing up the rear (59). Evidently, there is more to good mental health than “just” happiness.
Europe and the loneliness epidemic
In 2023, the WHO declared loneliness a “global public health concern”, equating its possible health implications to heavy smoking and stressing that “social isolation knows no age or boundaries”. In fact, just over half – 52 percent – of Europeans say they almost always, often or occasionally feel lonely. And while it may seem reasonable to assume that elderly people might be particularly affected by feelings of loneliness, the opposite is true.
Among Europeans over the age of 55, 41 percent say they feel lonely, which is considerably lower than the almost 2 in 3 (63) between the ages of 18 and 35. The majority of people who report spending a “long” (64) or “fair” (53) amount of time on social media are significantly more likely to experience feelings of loneliness than those who limit their screen time (43). People with extensive screen time also tend to experience more severe feelings of loneliness (44) than those with less time spent online (26) – and it probably comes as no surprise that Europeans under the age of 34 are much more likely to spend long hours looking at their device (41) than people aged 35–54 (22) and those above the age of 55 (13). In terms of self-awareness regarding this issue, young Europeans still have a long way to go: only 20 percent of them attribute their feelings of loneliness to extensive amounts of time spent on social media or playing computer games. To them, work (27) is the most pressing driver for loneliness, followed by remote working (15), childcare duties (15), loss of loved ones (14) or relocation for career reasons (14).
On a country level, people in Poland (61), Finland and Sweden (59 each), Slovakia (58), Italy and Kazakhstan (57 each) feel loneliest. Across Europe, work, insufficient amounts of free time (23), loss of partners, family members or friends (17) and poor health or mobility issues (14) are cited most frequently as causes of loneliness. Women (57) feel significantly lonelier than men (46) and are twice as likely to cite childcare duties (16) as a reason for feeling lonely than their male counterparts (8). The good news: by and large, 63 percent of Europeans describe their loneliness, however frequent, as “not severe”. Overall, people who are satisfied with their appearance and have good mental as well as physical health are less likely to feel lonely.
Better work-life-balance could help people feel less lonely
Still, loneliness harbours serious possible long-term implications: aside from the more obvious consequences like depression and anxiety, it also increases the risk of strokes, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, addiction and dementia. To remedy the loneliness epidemic, almost 1 in 2 Europeans (46) call for an improved work-life-balance, especially in Serbia (59) and Portugal (58), and 43 percent hope for a better economic situation, particularly in Serbia (63). Other suggestions include improved availability and access to leisure activities (35), and three in ten (30) think they should take it upon themselves to spend less time online. In addition, 28 percent think there should be more targeted support catering to the elderly population, while 27 percent wish for better access to therapy, the need for which seems particularly dire in Spain (44), Poland (41) and Finland (40).
Uneven work-life-balance and a lack of therapy lead to exhaustion: 60 percent of Europeans say they have already suffered from or at least experienced temporary feelings of burnout. In 2022, when the Health Report last addressed this topic, this applied to 59 percent of Europeans. Now, people in Denmark (73), Serbia (72), Ireland (71) and Kazakhstan (68) most frequently report feelings of burnout. Perhaps surprisingly, those Europeans most familiar with burnout are those who have been working and studying for the shortest time: people between the ages of 18 and 34 (69). Furthermore, those who spend long hours on social media (68 vs 53 spending little time online) are more susceptible to burnout, as well as women (65) in comparison to men (54).
Young Europeans are most afraid of ageing
On top of their general tendency to voice concerns over their state of mind, young Europeans also worry about what the future might bring: 46 percent of them are generally concerned about the prospect of ageing and all that comes with it. On a European level, 43 percent of people say they worry about growing older, while 44 percent remain unconcerned at the idea, with an additional 13 percent being unsure.
People in Poland (53), the UK (51) and Ireland (50) are most likely to harbour fears about ageing – as opposed to their counterparts in the Netherlands (31), Switzerland (32) and Serbia (33). In terms of why some countries are unbothered about ageing, acceptance seems to play a decisive role. 79 percent of those who say they are unconcerned about ageing describe it as a “natural part of life” – which seems to be the leading sentiment of the unperturbed in Finland (87). A certain indifference towards things that cannot be changed is a consolation to 48 percent of those unconcerned about ageing, especially in Hungary and the Czech Republic (59). Other reasons include looking forward to retiring and having time to oneself or to spend with loved ones (16), which people in Austria (33), Germany (27), Sweden (26) and Switzerland (24) eagerly anticipate. Religion and the belief that there is more to the human existence than this earthly life is a source of consolation for 16 percent of Europeans, especially in Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Slovenia and Hungary (20 each). People who are happy (40 vs 59 unhappy), satisfied with their appearance (37 vs 54 unsatisfied) and have good mental health (38 vs 58 poor mental health) are less likely to be worried about growing older.
Main concerns about ageing are falling ill, becoming frail, and a burden to others
The most concerning scenarios for Europeans are the potential age-related physical decline they might experience (68), which particularly upsets people in Finland (79) and Hungary (77). The second most pressing worry is illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and dementia, which are associated with late onset – 6 in 10 Europeans find them worrisome, especially people in Portugal (75). This is directly followed by the idea of potentially becoming a burden to others (59), also a major concern for people in Portugal (74) and Spain (73). Just over 1 in 2 (55) are afraid of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart issues, especially in Portugal (68), the Czech Republic (65) and Serbia and Sweden (63 each). Interestingly, a decline in physical appearance is – if only marginally – more or just about equally as upsetting to Europeans (43) than the loss of friends and family (42). Only 1 in 3 Europeans are worried about becoming lonely in old age due to isolation.
Genetic testing to predict illnesses of interest for majority
While some of those worries may be justified, there are methods available today which may help remedy or prevent some of the abovementioned scenarios from becoming a reality. Genetic testing, for instance, can help detect individual predispositions for certain illnesses, and – thanks to timely intervention – prevent or treat them before they manifest themselves.
Generally, 77 percent of Europeans would consent to such a test if their general practitioner recommends it – a decrease by 4 percentage points compared to 2023. Of those who would undergo genetic testing, 16 percent would feel uncomfortable with the idea of having their genetic information examined. People in Portugal, who worry a lot about what could happen in old age, are the most open to genetic testing, with 9 in 10 saying they would consent to such a test. People in Poland (84), Serbia and Ireland (82) also have few qualms about such novel techniques. About 1 in 10 Europeans are wary of genetic testing and would prefer to remain unaware of potential future health problems (13), with most scepticism coming from Switzerland (22) and the Netherlands (21).
