Most Gen Z and Millennials have multiple close friends and see them at least once a week, especially during their teen years, challenging the idea that young people are the loneliest generation yet. Phones and social media are strengthening those friendships rather than pulling them apart. School is still the top way young people meet their friends, but once that built-in structure disappears after graduation, more Gen Z adults say making new friends—and keeping the ones they already have—gets harder. In response, young people are showing up to in-person meetups with total strangers and joining fitness clubs, sports teams, and book clubs in growing numbers. And video games have overtaken social media as Gen Z’s leading source of community, even though in-person connection still feels the strongest of all.
In YPulse’s 2026 Friendship and Community Report, we dive into why making new friends gets harder once Gen Z ages out of school, how phones and social media are actually deepening friendships instead of replacing them, and why video games have overtaken social media as young people’s top source of community.
Report length: 21 pages, North America report is based on a survey of 1500 13-39-year-olds in the U.S. and Canada (n=1000 U.S., n=500 Canada), fielded May 27–June 4, 2026. Western Europe report is based on a survey of 2500 13-39-year-olds in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, and Italy (n=500 for each country), fielded May 27–June 4, 2026.
