How have people’s social lives been impacted by the cost of living crisis?

Key findings

• Over a third of UK adults (35%) have suffered severe negative impacts on their social life as rising costs prevent them from seeing friends and family
• Nearly a third of people have seen less of their family and friends (31%), which equates to 16 million UK adults, and nearly half have spent more time at home (48%), making them feel lonely and isolated
• Four in 10 (40%) felt more distant from friends and a quarter (25%) faced significant strain in their partner relationships
• Younger adults and people with children at home were more likely to feel distant from friends and had relationship strains with their partner

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic introduced a new type of ‘normal’ for people in the UK. We weathered the challenges of three nationwide lockdowns and found ourselves instinctively keeping a safe distance from others, at least 2 metres from anyone who wasn’t in our support bubble. During which time, precious moments with loved ones and the simple joy of socialising with friends were a thing of the past. It left many feeling isolated and disconnected. According to the ONS estimates, 3.7 million adults reported that they felt lonely “often” or “always” between October 2020 and Feb 2021, up from 2.6 million adults at the beginning of the pandemic.

As the pandemic eased and people started to rekindle those moments with friends and family, the cost of living crisis took hold. Our research shows that amid soaring bills and people needing to seriously save money, one way to cut back was to not go out and not socialise with friends and family.

Whilst this may seem like a minor adjustment to make, there are studies showing how being lonely and isolated can be linked to mental health issues. The Mental Health Foundation found loneliness could be associated with increased risk of depression at the time at which loneliness was measured and up to 9 years later. They also found an association between duration of loneliness and risk of depression. People who are feeling lonely, and have felt lonely for a long time (because of lockdowns and staying home amid the cost of living), may be more likely to be feeling depressed as a result. 

Which? surveyed 4,000 people across the UK to find out how different groups of consumers are coping -  financially, physically, mentally and socially - with the cost of living crisis.

You can access our complete library of data to understand the challenges facing consumers from our consumer data hub.

Millions of adults reported experiencing negative impacts on their social life from cost of living pressures

Our research estimates approximately over a third of UK adults have suffered severe negative impacts on their social life as a result of price increases in the cost of living (35%). People have had to adjust their social habits to ease the financial burden (eg meeting up with family and friends less due to expensive travel costs). 

Some have even chosen not to meet up with family and friends at all with 31% who saw less of their loved ones. This equates to an estimated 16 million UK adults. Nearly half also said they spend more time at home (48%), equating to an estimated 26 million UK adults. This is a relatable experience that closely resembles how people lived during the lockdown. It might have felt like an extended period of staying at home, not due to the pandemic this time, but as a way to save money. 

Some respondents shared the sacrifices and where they had to make cutbacks to their social life to save money and compensate for higher food, energy and fuel expenses:

“Unable to travel to see family members due to cost of fuel…not socialising as it is too expensive” 

Which? Cost of Living Segmentation Survey

“Has made me struggle to see friends and go out with my partner” 

Which? Cost of Living Segmentation Survey

Restricting spending and counting the pennies will be stressful in itself, and then not being able to alleviate this stress by seeing family and friends may have further compounded the stress that some of these individuals were feeling. One such respondent described the painful ultimatum they are faced with.

“...my social life suffers as I have to say no to meeting up with casual friends for lunch/coffee and have to be selective of what I go to etc. That then causes me to feel lonely sometimes. But if it means that I do not get myself in debt then so be it.” 

Which? Cost of Living Segmentation Survey

The sacrifices of cutting back on seeing family and friends in order to save money is being felt, as four out of 10 people became more distant from their friends (40%) and a quarter of people in a relationship experienced significant strain on their relationship with their partner (25%). Although this pressure on people’s relationships could also have originated from financial stress, it will still contribute to a sense of isolation from their partner.

Respondents expressed how these social cutbacks are amplifying their loneliness and isolation, and negatively affecting their mental wellbeing:

“The cost of living has made me stop enjoying going out and attending social events, causing me to be a lot more isolated from human contact and my sense of loneliness and anxiety has increased exponentially”  

Which? Cost of Living Segmentation Survey

“I no longer have a life, I merely exist. It’s miserable, depressing and I’m isolated from my friends as I can no longer afford to go out with them.” 

Which? Cost of Living Segmentation Survey

Younger adults and parents with children at home were more likely to feel more distant from friends and partners as a result of cost of living increases

We find that some groups of people were more likely than others to feel more isolated from their friends and partners.

Younger adults (aged 18-34) were almost twice as likely to feel distant from friends than people aged over 55, and were three times as likely to experience strains in their relationship. It could be because younger people have larger existing networks and already spend more time socialising with others than older people. As a result, younger people may have felt the impacts of suddenly not being able to access their support networks, more acutely.

Figure 1: Younger age groups were more likely to feel more distant from their friends and experience significant strain in their relationships due to rising costs

The difference between younger adults feeling more distant from friends and more strained with partners is a gap that appears to be ever widening. Even before the pandemic, loneliness was already more prevalent in young adults than older people. This gap has likely been further widened by the pandemic and then even more by cost of living pressures.

Younger adults weren’t the only ones who felt isolated from their friends, lonelier, and stressed in their relationships. People with children at home were also more likely to have these feelings compared to people without (see Figure 2). If they have young children, they may have been less able to go out with their friends or partners as much due to the need for childcare. With childcare costs also rising - our research shows 43% of parents reported spending more on childcare - people with young children could find it even more difficult to socialise. They are also likely to feel additional strains on their relationship from the heavier financial burdens of having more dependents.

Figure 2: People with children at home were more likely to feel more distant from their friends and experience significant strain in their relationships due to rising costs

Conclusion

Our research clearly shows how the cost of living crisis has seriously affected how people spend time with their family and friends, making them feel lonely and cut off. This is especially true for younger adults and people with children at home. They are more likely to feel distance from their friends and have problems in their romantic relationships. All of this can take a toll on their mental wellbeing.

Despite inflation easing in recent months, many consumers are still at risk of financial hardship. Both government and business must carefully think through how they can best support people in the long-term with their financial difficulties to avoid further harm on their mental health from increased social isolation. 

Methodology

Basis on behalf of Which? surveyed 4,000 nationally representative consumers within the UK in March 2023 to understand the impacts of the cost of living crisis, and how it has influenced consumer behaviour.