Millennials and Gen Zers Think They're the Loneliest Moms
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A new study has found that moms today feel more lonely and isolated than previous generations.
According to the report released by Peanut, an app which connects moms, 75 percent of mothers feel they have "less of a village" than their mothers, and 77 percent feel they have less than their grandmothers did — statistics which underscore growing concerns around loneliness and isolation in modern motherhood.
The report, titled "Where Did the Village Go?", surveyed over 3,000 women, including mothers, grandmothers and non-parents.
Young suffering woman sitting on couch, holding head in hands, little crying baby lying near.
Young suffering woman sitting on couch, holding head in hands, little crying baby lying near.
LanaStock
It examined how modern support systems fail and their impact on families, workplaces and culture.
Key findings included 82 percent of mothers reported feeling lonely, half of respondents admitted to crying weekly due to lack of support and nearly 90 percent of moms said they rely more on digital communities than in-person ones for parenting advice and emotional connection.
The concept of "the village"—once a reliable mix of relatives, neighbors and community members who collectively helped raise children—appears to be fading fast. Modern parenting, it seems, has become an increasingly isolating journey.
"For someone to have checked in on me fresh postpartum—that would have made all the difference," any anonymous Peanut user shared.
The report also touched on societal factors fueling this shift: geographical mobility, demanding work schedules, delayed parenthood and the lingering effects of the pandemic all contribute to fragmented support systems.
Interestingly, while 65 percent of respondents said they wished they had more intergenerational support, only 14 percent actually live close to extended family.
Meanwhile, 67 percent of moms say they turn to online platforms like Peanut to fill that gap —searching for everything from parenting advice to emotional validation.
Despite the sobering statistics, the report offers hope in its final pages. Peanut asked mothers what they think is really missing from their village.
"One mom friend. Just one who I could text to say 'this is hard' without shame," an anonymous user from Australia shared.
Lauren, from the U.S., wrote, "Someone to check in. A real human, not a blog."
Peanut also outlined the next steps for what needs to be done to help women feel supported in their motherhood journey.
It said asking for help should be normalized, workplaces should be transformed to honor parenting as a real and valued responsibility and governments need to step in to ensure the message is getting through: caregiving matters.
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