Young Brits cut back on socializing amid cost-of-living crisis

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) – Young Brits are cutting back on their socializing amid an escalating cost-of-living crisis in the UK, the Guardian reported.

Inflation is outstripping wages in the UK, with average household disposable incoming having dropped by 16.5%, it was reported in August.

The Guardian interviewed a number of young Brits about the impact the rising cost of living has had on them, with some names changed for privacy.

Beth, a 28-year-old nurse, told the Guardian she had to cut back on seeing friends to just once or twice a month. She lives alone, and is struggling to make her mortgage payments, with going out now becoming increasingly unaffordable too.

“I try to see those friends that would understand if I just order a starter or cancel last minute due to finances, as it’s embarrassing,” she said. “Eventually, the more you say no, the more people stop inviting you to things.”

“I had to make sacrifices to own my flat and now it’s getting harder to keep,” she added.

The rise in the cost of living was also impacting her work: “If I felt like I was valued more at work, and that it was allowing me to have proper rest and fun, then I would work more effectively.”

Rising fuel costs make it more difficult for those outside of cities, and thus with less reliable public transport, to move around. Restaurants and pubs have become much more expensive.

Beth was unable to attend her niece’s birthday party because she could not afford the fuel, and she missed the rehearsal dinner for her sister’s wedding because she could not afford the hotel.

- Mental and physical health

Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level, told the Guardian: “Our connections to one another are an enormous part of our mental and physical health.”

“There are long-term studies that show not having friends is as bad for your health as smoking,” she said.

“We should be really concerned about teenagers and young adults, who had an isolating time through the pandemic and a very different experience of socialisation,” she added.

“The normal transition into adulthood is either going to be delayed for them, or it’s not going to happen,” she said.

One example of this delayed transition is dating, which has become more expensive.

Rachel, a 31-year-old civil servant, told the Guardian: “One date can blow a huge hole in the budget, and then they turn out to be completely unsuitable.”

“It’s hard to make a connection when you are doing mental maths,” she said.

“I’m at the age where I want to settle down fairly soon,” she continued. “Finances do have a big impact on that and it does limit your options. I’m sure there are plenty of lovely people with similar backgrounds and interests to me stuck at home because they too are broke. It is a worry. I have joked with friends that I should just lurk in my local library and ask out whoever picks up an interesting book.”

Some have given up on dating altogether, while others have led a recent increase in a preference among singletons for modestly-priced date locations, such as picnics in the park.

Pickett told the Guardian: “There might be quite a lot of young people who are unable to leave their family home at this point, and they’re not alone. But they might still be lacking the kind of contact that’s important for them to flourish.”

“There’s a huge pressure on us to show we’re having fun lives on social media,” she added. “People feel ashamed to not be able to join in with the kind of social life friends are having… their self-worth might be threatened by feeling less well off.”

Pickett said: “Socialising is not a frivolous add-on in life – it’s how we function and thrive as human beings.”