Generation Isolation: Greater Manchester’s Young People Want to Get Off Phones But Need Real-Life Alternatives To Kick The Habit

A case study from HideOut, demonstrating the role of youth zones in addressing this issue.

• Five OnSide Youth Zones in Greater Manchester – together supporting 14,988 of young people – are today calling for better real-life alternatives to smartphones.
• New research released today from youth charity OnSide reveals 24% of 11–18-year-olds in the North West spend most of their free time on their smartphone
• 46% of the North West’s young people would like to break the habit but 41% don’t know how
• Young people in the North West feel lonely and anxious – 44% have high or very high feelings of loneliness while 50% have high or very high feelings of anxiety
• Young people in the North West are crying out for real-life social experiences in their community – 29% say more affordable leisure activities like youth centres would do the most to improve their life outside school, while 25% want safe, fun social places to hang out with friends.

National youth charity OnSide’s Generation Isolation report, the largest study of its type into the way 11–18-year-olds spend their free time, today reveals that young people want to reduce the amount of time they spend on their phones – but simply don’t know how to break the habit.

The new report, based on a survey of 5,213 11–18-year-olds in England in partnership with YouGov shows that smartphone use is one of the most dominant free time activity for young people in the North West, with 24% spending most of their free time when not in school on their phone.

The five Youth Zones in Greater Manchester – BLGC in Bolton, Wigan Youth Zone, Mahdlo in Oldham, HideOut in Gorton, and Manchester Youth Zone in Harpurhey – are part of the national OnSide network of 15 Youth Zones, and provide vital youth worker support and activities for 14,988 young people in Greater Manchester.
Today the CEOs of five Youth Zones reacted to the report’s findings by calling for better, real-life alternatives to smartphone dependency. Specifically, for every young person to have access to high-quality youth centres and dedicated youth workers to help them build rich, real life social connections and experiences that are more compelling than the lure of a smartphone.

Generation Isolation, now in its third year, finds smartphone use is now the most dominant free time activity for 11–18-year-olds in England with 1.3 million* (24%) spending most of their free time on their smartphone. Of those who spend the most time on their devices, the study reveals that across England over half (52%) would like to reduce their screen time, yet 46% don’t know how to break the habit. In the North West this is lower with 24% of young people spending most of their time outside school on their phone, 46% of these would like to reduce their screen time, however 41% do not know how to.

When asked about why they spend time on their smartphone, 47% of young people in the North West said they are worried about feeling left out from friends if they don’t use their device; 25% said they have more friends to talk to on their smartphone than they do in real life and 10% said being on their phone is better than real-life.

Worryingly, asked for the first time about levels of loneliness, 44% of young people in the North West said they’d experienced high or very high levels of loneliness.

Feelings of loneliness almost match sustained anxiety in this age group as 50% of those polled in the North West stated they’ve experienced high or very high levels of anxiety.

Young people in the North West are clear about what is needed. Asked what one thing would improve their lives outside 29% opted for more affordable leisure activities, 25% wanted more safe and fun places to socialise and 16% want more opportunities to learn skills outside of school.

Generation Isolation has been released to coincide with National Youth Work Week, an initiative to raise awareness of youth work and youth workers.
The report shows that the solution to many of the problems young people face today lies in youth clubs, which play a vital role in enabling them to build face-to-face connections and develop skills and resilience.

The vast majority 94% of young people who attend a youth club in the North West say it has made a positive difference to their lives with ‘making friends and social interaction’ being the most popular reason for this, and 92% say their youth club has helped them to develop new skills.
Together, Greater Manchester’s five Youth Zones are joining OnSide, which is currently developing a further eight Youth Zones in some of the country’s most disadvantaged areas, in calling for every young person to have access to high quality youth centres to help them build rich social connections, achieve their potential and develop into happy, healthy thriving adults.

One such example is Aliyah. As one of the first young people to attend HideOut, Aliyah has since been involved in a range of activities helping her to grow in confidence and advocate for others. Aliyah’s highlights include completing her bronze Duke of Edinburgh award, thriving on the young leader’s programme, starring on the JD Foundation podcast, hosting at the Made in Manchester Awards and appearing as a panellist for the Bruntwood Works Summit and pro-Manchester’s Social Value in Action. Now 19, Aliyah is working towards her aspirations of becoming an actor having been flown out to South Africa to star in her first advert for Adidas earlier this year.

Aliyah said: “HideOut helps young people like me feel less isolated and get off our screens by giving us somewhere safe to go to interact with peers, take part in fun activities and learn new skills, all away from our phones. Since coming to HideOut, I can now start a conversation without overthinking it too much, which has helped me with everything else. It’s made me take risks and not be afraid to say yes to opportunities.”

Commenting on the findings, Adam Farricker CEO of Empower Youth Zone, said: “Young people’s access to youth zones has never been more urgent. As concerns about the impact of smartphone overuse on young people grow, we’re committed to providing meaningful face-to-face interaction through engaging activities that allow our members to connect in real time. This year’s regional report underscores the growing demand in North West communities for more provision for young people. We’re proud to be opening a new youth zone in Salford next year to meet this need and give young people the opportunity develop healthy social connections and essential life skills. Every young person deserves access to a youth worker and we’re passionate about making this a reality.”

OnSide Chief Executive, Jamie Masraff, said: “The message from young people is overwhelmingly clear – they want to ditch smartphone dependency and socialise in person, but feel trapped in a habit that is leaving them lonely, isolated and anxious. We are letting young people down by treating time outside of school as an afterthought and not creating enough opportunities in real life that are better than life on screens.

“Without the provision of affordable, safe places to flourish outside of school, we risk a generation becoming adults who struggle to exist in a real-word environment, riddled with social anxiety and lacking in social skills.

“Evidence shows that youth clubs offer rich and vibrant environments where young people, supported by dedicated youth workers, have fun, build confidence, develop life skills and become happy, healthy, thriving adults. Youth provision is the untapped solution to the challenges outlined in Generation Isolation. – it must become a right and reality for all young people.”

To read the full Generation Isolation visit the report from 00.01 on 4 November 2024.