Study reveals why Gen Alpha kids dont make friends
Researchers in Michigan have lifted the lid on the epidemic of loneliness gripping Americas youth, with nearly a fifth of parents saying their child has no friends or not enough of them.
Researchers in Michigan have lifted the lid on the epidemic of loneliness gripping Americas youth, with nearly a fifth of parents saying their child has no friends or not enough of them.
Experts at the C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital say parents are scared their Gen Alpha kids arent forging relationships at school, and attribute this to everything from shyness to social media.
They also warned that Americas culture wars are making it harder for children to make buddies, with political and religious divisions acting as a barrier between families.
Hospital researcher Sarah Clark says too many kids lose out on friendships that would otherwise boost their health and development, emotional well-being, self-esteem and social skills.
They can end up feeling isolated and lonely, which impacts their quality of life and mental health, she adds.
A staggering 90 percent of parents of Gen Alpha children say their kid should have more friends
Nearly a fifth of parents say their child has no friends at all, or not enough of them
The research comes amid a series of dire warnings about family life in America.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned of the dangers social media poses to young people, and recently flagged how parents are struggling to raise kids amid economic turbulence and a mental health crisis.
Many parents of Gen Alpha children, who were born from 2010-2024, know this all too well.
Some take to social media to air their concerns about children spending too much time alone or glued to a cell phone or games console.
In a series of recent posts, moms and dads on TikTok discussed social anxiety preventing young friendships from blooming and how the landscape for making friends has changed in recent decades.
I have two kids, and they have no friends, posted one concerned dad.
Kids today grew up differently. We had to socialize, we had to talk to people, we had to go find our own adventures and misadventures. Socialization changed.
For the hospital study, Ipsos surveyed 1,031 parents with at least one child age 6-12 across the US last month.
Some 19 percent of parents said their child had no friends or not enough classmates, and fully 90 percent said they wanted to help their child make more.
More than half of them said their child struggled to make friends because of a specific problem — ranging from shyness, to a disability, or because they did not have enough time or places to socialize with other kids.
Nearly three quarters said they had tried to help their child make friends — most often by arranging play-dates and giving their child tips on making friends.
Some even bought products that would help their youngster fit in with classmates.
Researchers also revealed a lesser-known problem that is getting in the way of young friendships — the culture wars.
Nearly two thirds of parents say it is important that their childs friends come from families similar to their own.
Not only do these parents seek out families with similar parenting styles to their own, but they also favor those with similar religious or political views.
Experts at the C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, say parents are worried
Parents actively arrange playdates to help their children build friendships
Parents should be cautious about this approach, the researchers warned.
Limiting a childs friends to only those from similar backgrounds may hamper the childs ability and comfort in navigating diverse networks and working with a broad group of peers in the future.
The report comes on the heels of the latest in a series of warnings from Dr Murthy about the decline of the family.
Americas top doctor last month declared a public health emergency among struggling moms and dads.
The surgeon general said parents are under dangerous levels of stress and loneliness and may be passing mental health problems to their children.
In his report, Dr Murthy cited American Psychological Association research saying nearly half of parents report feel overwhelming stress most days, compared to 26 percent of other adults.
And research shows they are lonelier, too. Dr Murthys paper highlighted surveys showing around two-thirds of parents are lonely, compared to 55 percent of those without kids.
Last year, Dr Murthy famously warned that social media presents a profound risk of harm for children and called for immediate action to protect kids now.
The surgeon general said the country is experiencing a national youth mental health crisis and pointed towards social media as one of the main culprits.
Evidence has mounted for years that social media is detrimental to youths, due to highly sophisticated algorithms which can promote self-harm and other dangerous content to young users.
