Study: digital proximity does not always replace physical contact
Young people increasingly see online contact as part of their social lives, while loneliness remains widespread.
Nearly half of people in the Netherlands say they sometimes feel lonely, according to research by Univé and MarketResponse. Young people more often see digital tools as a way to maintain contact, but the findings do not show that online contact resolves loneliness on its own.
The research was conducted among 1,024 people in the Netherlands between 2 and 6 July 2026. The commissioning organisation was health insurer Univé; MarketResponse conducted the research. According to the findings, 49 per cent of respondents sometimes feel lonely. One in five say they experience this regularly or often.
Among participants under 35, two in five believe online contact can replace physical contact. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, more than a third think digital tools can help reduce loneliness. For the population as a whole, that proportion is just over one in five, according to the research.
The figures concern participants’ views and experiences. They do not prove that social media, messaging apps or video calls cause or reduce loneliness. Nor is Univé’s research the same as a nationwide health survey among school pupils.
The recent HBSC study by Universiteit Utrecht and the Trimbos-instituut focused on pupils aged 11 to 16 inclusive. That study was conducted in 2025 among a nationally representative group and included questions about mental health, social relationships and digital media. Its findings therefore concern a different part of the youth population from the Univé survey.
According to Professor of Humanistics Anja Machielse, quoted by Univé, digital contact can be valuable when people cannot easily meet in person. This applies, for example, to family members who live far apart or to people looking for others with similar experiences. At the same time, the quality of contact remains important: a message is not automatically a substitute for proximity, support or participation in a group.
For local authorities, schools, employers and care organisations, a combination of measures is therefore the obvious approach. Accessible meeting places, attention to social exclusion and the careful use of digital tools can complement one another. The available research gives no reason to attribute loneliness to a single technology or age group.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Univé study reports on loneliness and views about digital contact in a sample of 1,024 people in the Netherlands.
- The 2025 HBSC study among school-age young people included questions about social relationships, mental health and digital media.
- Neither source proves that digital tools, on their own, cause or resolve loneliness.
Left
Arguments Loneliness should primarily be seen as a social problem linked to exclusion, financial worries, performance pressure and the disappearance of accessible meeting places. Digital platforms must not shift responsibility on to individual users.
Values Equal access, public services, solidarity and protection of vulnerable groups.
Consequences Greater investment in youth work, education and mental healthcare could strengthen social participation; without a structural approach, digital contact will remain little more than a sticking plaster.
Centre
Arguments Online and offline contact complement each other. Governments, schools, employers and care providers should make space for meeting others, while digital tools should remain available to people who find it difficult to organise physical contact.
Values Practical feasibility, evidence, freedom of choice and cooperation between public and private parties.
Consequences A combination of neighbourhood initiatives, early identification and responsible digital design is likely to be more robust than a single nationwide solution.
Right
Arguments Not every form of loneliness calls for government policy. Families, associations, schools and employers are the first places where connections are formed, while personal responsibility also has a role to play. Digital tools can help with this, as long as the government does not paternalistically prescribe how people should maintain contact.
Values Personal responsibility, community spirit, freedom and restrained government.
Consequences Policy should primarily remove barriers to participation and leave room for local and private initiatives, with targeted help for those who fall through the net.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The research design, percentages and age groups can be found in the publicly available sources. The article clearly distinguishes between measured experiences, views and causal conclusions.
- confirmed The Univé study was conducted among 1,024 people in the Netherlands from 2 to 6 July 2026 inclusive. — Stated on Univé’s research page. source
- confirmed Forty-nine per cent sometimes feel lonely and 20 per cent do so regularly or often. — The percentages appear in the summary of the Univé study. source
- confirmed Two in five young people under 35 believe online contact can replace physical contact. — This is a finding of the Univé survey. source
- confirmed The 2025 HBSC study involved a nationally representative group of pupils aged 11 to 16 inclusive. — The Trimbos-instituut’s research description gives the population and year of the study. source
Editor's note
Univé’s survey measures self-reported experiences and views, not a medical diagnosis. The age groups and methods differ from those of the HBSC study; the figures are therefore not directly comparable.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „eenzaamheid jongeren”
- NOS — „eenzaamheid jongeren”
- Het Parool — „eenzaamheid jongeren”