Young American men are ‘uniquely' lonely compared to other countries, poll finds

Miami Herald

21-05-2025

Young American men are 'uniquely' lonely compared to the rest of the country — and to much of the world, according to new polling.
In the latest Gallup survey, 25% of 15-34-year-old men reported feeling lonely a lot of the previous day, which was significantly higher than the national average of 18%.
By comparison, loneliness was reported in smaller shares in all other demographics, including 15-34-year-old women (18%), 35-54-year-old men (15%) and 35-54-year-old women (20%). Men and women aged 55 and older reported some of the lowest levels of loneliness — 16% and 17%, respectively.
Young American men were also more likely than the rest of the population to report feeling worry (46% vs. 37%) and stress (57% vs. 48%).
The poll — which sampled about 1,000 U.S. adults between June and August and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points — also looked at loneliness levels in other wealthy, democratic countries.
Comparison to other countries
Across 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a median of 16% of respondents said they felt lonely a lot the previous day, while a median of 15% of young men said the same. This suggests that young men in most high-income nations are about as lonely as other demographics.
That said, young American men are not alone in experiencing high levels of loneliness.
In nine countries, 20% or more of young men reported feeling lonely the previous day. These include Canada (22%), Ireland (23%), France (24%) and Turkey (29%).
But, in most sampled countries — unlike in the U.S. — loneliness levels in young men tracked closely with their national averages.
In fact, in just three countries was the loneliness rate among young men significantly higher than the rest of the population.
In addition to the U.S., these included Iceland and Denmark, where 15% of young men reported experiencing daily loneliness — while for the overall population, these figures stood at 10% and 9%, respectively.
But, 'nowhere is the gap as large as in the U.S., where young men are uniquely lonely (25%) compared with all other adults (17%),' according to Gallup. 'This is a rare pattern across wealthy countries…'
In contrast, young men reported less loneliness than the general population in nine countries — including Mexico, Italy and Colombia — and the figures were about the same as the national average in the remaining 26 countries.
Loneliness as a stand-alone metric matters because it closely tracks with other negative outcomes.
For example, those who reported feeling daily loneliness were significantly less likely to report smiling a lot, feeling well-rested and feeling satisfied with opportunities to make friends.
The findings of the survey come in contrast to a recent Pew Research Center poll, released in January, which found roughly equal shares of American men and women experience recurrent loneliness.
However, the poll found a strong age divide, with young people reporting higher levels of loneliness than their older counterparts.