> Dansk

New campaign aims to break the taboo around loneliness among young people

We all feel lonely sometimes – which is a natural part of life. For some people, however, loneliness becomes a constant companion. And if it takes hold, loneliness can damage the body and the psyche. More and more young people are expressing that they feel lonely. The latest figures show that 12 per cent of young adults aged between 16 and 24 are extremely lonely.

“Loneliness is a big problem among our youth – not only during the coronavirus pandemic, but also before and after. With this campaign, we want to break the taboo around loneliness and appeal to young people to recognise it – and even better, to reach out to each other. I think there’s a particular momentum for that at the moment. During the first months of the coronavirus crisis, many young people may have experienced the feeling of loneliness personally and will therefore be better able to understand what it must be like to feel lonely every single day. Many young people would like to be there for others. But taboos and the fear of intimacy often get in the way,” said the Chairperson of The Mary Foundation, HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.


The Mary Foundation is launching the campaign with a film featuring the Crown Princess about why it is so important that we do all we can to put loneliness on the agenda. The campaign will also include various content for social media aimed at young people, including a film and a number of tips for young people on how to reach out to each other and what to do if you feel lonely. The tips have been prepared in collaboration with Ventilen and Børns Vilkår.


“We adults can do a lot to help lonely young people. But young people who feel lonely need other young people. Feeling seen and included by peers in the communities you move in is hugely important. Our hope is that with this campaign we can start a conversation among young people about loneliness, and that more young people will dare to reach out to someone who may be lonely. And also dare to speak up if they are feeling lonely themselves,” said Director of The Mary Foundation, Helle Østergaard.


The films for the campaign have been created by Mayday Film, in partnership with The Mary Foundation.


“Convincing young people to address such a serious topic is a very difficult task. They are critical and quickly lose interest if they feel patronised or lectured by adults. We’ve made great efforts to avoid that – which isn’t easy. That’s why we have tried to create a campaign that communicates with young people on their level,” said Helle Østergaard.


The campaign starts today and will run over the next few weeks.


You can read about the entire campaign at www.fåøjepåensomhed.dk


The Mary Foundation works to combat loneliness as one of its three focus areas, based on its vision of a society where everyone experiences belonging. Among other things, The Mary Foundation strives to break the taboo around loneliness so that more can be done to tackle it.

Facts

  • 12% of 16 to 24-year-olds are extremely lonely.
  • 350,000 Danes aged 16 and above experience extreme loneliness.
  • 150,000 Danish adults between 30 and 60 years of age experience extreme loneliness.
  • Transient loneliness is completely normal and harmless.
  • Prolonged loneliness can impair our social skills.
  • Prolonged loneliness results in stress and damages our physical health.
  • Loneliness is a feeling and depends on the individual’s social needs.
  • Loneliness is more about the quality than the quantity of one’s relationships.

Sources: A 2019 analysis on loneliness among young people by DEFACTUM, and estimates based on figures from The Danish National Health Survey (Den Nationale Sundhedsprofil) of 2018.

In the period from 20 March to 16 April 2020, almost one in four respondents (22%) in the 16–29 age group stated that they felt lonely. This is a marked increase compared to before the crisis, when 10–14% of young people reported feeling lonely according to The Danish National Health Survey of 2017.


Source: “Stå sammen ved at holde afstand: Danskernes håndtering af Coronakrisen”, a study on the Danish population’s handling of the coronavirus crisis by the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen.

Mary Fonden
Når pædagoger, lærere og forældre sammen sætter fokus på det gode børnefællesskab og på at lære børn og unge, at mobning er uacceptabelt, så virker det...
Kronprinsessen hyldede partnerskabet og brede alliancer i arbejdet med at bekæmpe komplekse sociale...
Vores samarbejde med MH24 - Mikkel Mod Mobning har knopskudt, og vi har netop lanceret Antibulli-prisen...
mary_fonden Ensomhed er et stigende problem blandt unge. Det vigtigste, vi kan gøre, er at tale om det, række ud og bryde tabuet. Vi skal forstå ensomhed for at kunne bekæmpe den. Mary Fondens vision er, at alle mennesker skal have adgang til nære og respektfulde relationer, hvor andre er noget for dem, og hvor de kan være noget for andre. #alleharrettilathøretil
mary_fonden Hvordan styrker vi unges sociale trivsel? Vores projekt Me&We handler om at styrke efterskoleelevers sociale kompetencer og relationer. I dag lander dette materialekatalog sammen med vandflasker og kopper på de 31 efterskoler, der er del af næste fase af projektet i det kommende skoleår. Kataloget består af viden og aktiviteter, der skal støtte elevernes forståelse af sig selv og hinanden. Læs mere via link i bio. Me&We er er samarbejde mellem Mary Fonden, @justhuman.dk, @efterskolerne og @tuborgfondet.
mary_fonden Er mobning blevet til isolering af nogle børn? Det spørgsmål stiller mobbeforsker Helle Rabøl Hansen i fagbladet Folkeskolen på baggrund af stigende ensomhed blandt børn og unge. "Nogle børn og unge oplever at være luft for de andre. Derfor vælger de at være tavse i løbet af skoledagen, for det er da bedre end aktivt at blive chikaneret af de andre i klassen. Så kommer lærerne og siger: 'Du byder ikke nok ind i undervisningen' eller 'Du skal ikke være så tilbageholdende'. Men Eva på 13 år har ikke lyst til at byde ind og dermed gøre opmærksom på sig selv. Så er det bedre slet ikke at blive set." Hun opfordrer skolerne til at tænke trivsel og deres indsats mod mobning bredere - og fx medtænke ensomhed i indsatsen. Læs mere i artiklen fra fagbladet Folkeskolen. Link i bio 👆🏼 #alleharrettilathøretil #ensomhed #mobning
mary_fonden Nu begynder forskellige sports og fritidsaktiviteter for børn så småt at starte op igen. Når aktiviteterne begynder igen, er det vigtigt at huske at arbejde for den gode klubkultur. Mary Fondens projekt Antibulli er et antimobberedskab til børnehåndboldtrænere. Det består af konkrete råd og øvelser til træningen af 6-12-årige. Målet er at skabe en hold- og klubkultur med høj tolerance, hvor alle respekterer hinanden, taler ordentligt og hjælper hinanden, så klubben er et rart sted at være, uanset hvor god man er til håndbold. Grundtanken er, at et stærkt sammenhold og gode børnefællesskaber forebygger eksklusion og mobning. Link til Antibulli.dk i bio.
mary_fonden I dag optager vi til en film om noget, der rammer ned i kernen af vores arbejde. At alle har ret til at høre til og føle sig som en del af noget større end sig selv. Det budskab og det arbejde er kun blevet endnu mere aktuelt under Corona-krisen. Stay tuned, når vi offentliggør filmen om nogle uger.