Lonely children are to be prescribed activities such as fishing, gardening or visiting museums in an attempt to tackle high levels of social isolation among the young. A pilot project led by University College London will offer between 100 and 600 children aged nine to thirteen “social prescribing” measures that are already used to treat similar psychological pressures in adults.

Psychological problems among the young have been rising in nearly all developed countries since the Second World War. Explanations have included the fragmentation of the family, the competitive pressures of a consumerist society and the culture of rights creating unfulfillable demands. The common link among all of these is the erosion of attachments to other people.

In 2021, a survey by the Onward think tank found a collapse of community and belonging among young people. Millennials and Generation Z were less likely to be members of a group or participate in group activities than previous generations had been at similar ages. People under the age of 25 were three times more likely than people over 65 to distrust their neighbours, while only around half said they trusted their family “completely”. This lack of trust starts to hint at the real issue. If people aren’t solidly anchored in a family, a group, a community or a nation, they lack the connectedness to others that provides resilience and control over their life.

Having to deal with other people forces an individual to make the numerous small accommodations and compromises that are essential to getting along with them. That helps create personal resilience. The lack of such connections fosters fragility and replaces trust in others with the suspicion that they pose a potential danger. This helps explain the “ snowflake” tendency among the young in which every challenge, setback or disagreeable viewpoint is viewed as an existential attack.

The issue was the dominance of feelings that were now being confused with objective reality. Because no one today could ever deny how anyone felt, if someone felt offended then he or she would firmly believe that someone had genuinely harmed them. As a result, many young people were now “immersed in their own misery”.

The antidote to loneliness and psychological problems for both young and older people is activity that gets them to look outwards rather than inwards. Outdoor activities and pursuits that bring the individual into contact with others are all beneficial. The most beneficial of all, however, is the polar opposite to “me, myself and I”—actively and directly helping other people.

The point about altruism is that it involves other people. Young people today tend to be intensely socially conscious, believing in “social justice” and saving the planet. That’s not the same thing at all. Social causes are abstract and remote. They don’t involve a personal relationship with tangible results. Altruism involves helping others by giving up something of value, such as time, effort or reward through volunteering or selfless acts. Connecting to others through personal acts of kindness not only benefits society but can also start to heal the damaging isolation of the self-absorbed.

According to the first two paragraphs, “social prescribing” measures