Young Adult Loneliness Project
Seed-funded by Pinterest Impact Lab, this community-based research and design initiative is co-led by young adults to uncover the root causes of loneliness in their generation and create new pathways to stronger social health and belonging.
Our Young Adult Loneliness Project is in the early stages of our Social Innovation Lab process. Not yet an active, launched program, this project is in the research phase, focused on identifying root causes of loneliness among young adults and co-designing possible solutions.
Research indicates that young adults in the U.S. experience some of the highest levels of loneliness in the country, yet this issue has received little attention.
To address this issue, we’ve taken a data- and community-driven approach to understanding the scope of the problem. We began by conducting an umbrella review of 25 academic studies, synthesizing what peer reviewed research has made currently known about loneliness in young adulthood. We then conducted an original analysis using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 Household Pulse Survey, a nationally representative dataset of over 60,000 adults. This analysis revealed that young adults aged 18-29 report the highest levels of loneliness of any age group, but also indicated that LGBTQ+ young adults are especially at risk.
Based on these results, we further focused on LGBTQ+ young adults, examining the root causes of loneliness and exploring potential solutions. To do this, we conducted two national surveys and two in-depth focus groups. Results from our surveys showed that 80% of LGBTQ+ young adults were classified as lonely, which is roughly twice the rate in the U.S. adult population (39%) according to our analysis of Census data.
Additionally, 65% of survey respondents said that they thought loneliness was an important or extremely important problem for them personally. Importantly, 99% of survey respondents said they’d like to continue participating in this project, and several focus group participants asked to stay involved in the co-design process—a strong signal of both need and community ownership. These results underscore the relevance and importance of needing to address the issue of loneliness for LGBTQ+ young adults.
In 2026, we look forward to continuing to build on these insights to drive impactful solutions to loneliness grounded in the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ young adults.
We are a collective of scientists, creatives, and activists united by a vision of a world of togetherness.