U Germany Loneliness is often described as a silent epidemic. Latest data The Federal Statistical Office shows that every sixth person over the age of ten often feels lonely - that's about 12,2 million people, Deutsche Welle writes.
Psychologists define loneliness as a perceived discrepancy between desired and actual social relationships and is different from social isolation. Statistics show that young people are the most affected in Germany: a quarter of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 say they often feel lonely.
Families Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) described loneliness as one of the most important issues of our time, not only because of the health risks, including a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia and depression - but also because it weakens social cohesion.
Study "Extremely Lonely", part of the project Collective which funds this Ministry, suggests that loneliness can be a threat to democracy.
Scientists have found a link between loneliness and anti-democratic attitudes: tendency towards populism, belief in conspiracy theories, authoritarian attitudes and approval of breaking political rules and violence.
"These are not causal relationships, but there is a correlation," said Claudia Neu, a sociologist and one of the authors of the study.
People who have been lonely for a long time begin to perceive the world more negatively, as darker and more dangerous - they trust other people less, as well as their environment and democratic institutions.
This is a problem, according to Neu, because support for democracy depends on how strongly one feels connected to society as a whole.
"The longing for community is of course still very strong. It's just deeply ingrained in us that we probably can't survive without others," she said.
Right-wing populist or right-wing extremist parties offer a sense of community and at the same time this narrative of fear: 'Join us, then you will be part of our community'.
Loneliness is only one of many risk factors
Gabriela Grobarcikova (25) says she was 15 years old when she first felt lonely.
"I felt distanced from other people. "I felt that there were many people around me, but the feeling of a real connection was missing," she told DW.
Grobarcikova said that she did not have a stable family life and that it was difficult for her to maintain long-term friendships, but she found a sense of connection through politics. She believes that thanks to the fact that her parents are supporters of center-left politics, she did not develop anti-democratic or extremist attitudes.
"Loneliness is a state in which there is a strong, unfulfilled desire for community. I realized this desire through political engagement and activism, in local communities, social democratic political circles"
Study Collection showed that distrust in democracy is widespread among young people. Of the 1.008 respondents between the ages of 16 and 23, only 48 percent believe that the democratic system in Germany works well, and 40 percent believe that politicians are able to respond to the challenges of the future.
Was it better before?
However, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that young people today have more extreme political views than previous generations, says Bjorn Milbrath, a sociologist and expert on youth radicalization at the German Youth Institute.
"Today, one gets the impression that young people are becoming more and more radical. But I urge caution. There have always been radical or extremist youth movements," Milbrath told DW.
He recalls the wave of violence by right-wing extremists in the early nineties, after the reunification of Germany, and the student movement in West Germany in 1968.
The research showed, Milbrath said, that the likelihood of a young person becoming radicalized depends on several factors, not just loneliness. Socioeconomic background, unstable family life, poorly developed critical thinking and exposure to misanthropic attitudes can also play a role in this.
"There is not just one factor. "I think it's very important to emphasize that because in the public debate there is often a tendency to look at radicalization in a very one-dimensional way, that TikTok is one of the main factors that radicalize young people," he said.
"But what you always have to say is that people are particularly radicalized on TikTok if they're already receptive to certain ideologies or attitudes," Milbrath added.
It's important to be vigilant about extremism among young people, said Milbrat, pointing to Shell's 2019 youth study, which showed that about a third of young people have a tendency towards right-wing populism.
"It was a very alarming result and I think it still is," he said. "There are elections where Alternative for Germany gets a very significant percentage of young people." Those are the warning signals we keep getting."
Involve young people more in politics
As for young people, dealing with loneliness is only one part of a wider range of solutions needed to prevent the development of extremist attitudes, according to Milbrath. Political and civic education in schools, awareness of the history of Germany's Nazi past and a sense of influence within the democratic process are key.
Authors of the study Collective they also said that politicians and civil society groups must make political education accessible to all and create more opportunities for young people to participate in the democratic process.
"I think you can make society as a whole aware of what it really means when you tell the generation that will soon be in positions of power that their opinion doesn't count." Something can be done about that," said Milbrat.
