Young people who reported higher levels of loneliness had more online-only friends / Bader Oleksii/shutterstock
Loneliness is believed to be as unhealthy as obesity and smoking, and last May leading operators told Spa Business how the industry can help (see SB18/2 p58). By adopting a thoughtful, more inclusive approach spas, with their touch-based treatments, mindfulness therapies and group sessions, are perfectly positioned to reach out to those feeling isolated.
While operators would be forgiven for assuming that older adults are the biggest audience, a new survey reveals that young people between the ages of 16 and 24 experience loneliness more keenly.
Around 55,000 participants from 237 countries took part in the BBC’s Loneliness Experiment, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The results show that 40 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds around the world feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘very often’, compared to only 29 per cent of people aged between 65 to 74, and 27 per cent of 75 and overs.
The survey also shows that young people who report higher levels of loneliness have more online-only Facebook friends than those who report lower levels.
Speaking to UK newspaper The Telegraph Claudia Hammond, who instigated the project, says the findings challenge the stereotype of the isolated elderly, suggesting, instead, an epidemic of loneliness amongst the young.
“I wondered where there is something about the stress of modern life, or young people’s ability to cope with it, that makes them feel lonelier. Or is youth simply a time of life when people feel isolation most keenly?” she asked.
“Young people today have social media. They are more connected than ever before. But this can bring its own problems. If you’re feeling lonely, looking at pictures of other people appearing to have endless fun isn’t going to help with those feelings of isolation.”
Spa Business identified loneliness as an industry trend in 2014: http://lei.sr/H5P3A. It also reported on the impact of loneliness and how spas can position themselves to help address the problem in more depth in issue 2 2015: http://lei.sr/3v3r8 and issue 2 2018: http://lei.sr/H3K1p
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Event saunas, sunlight therapy
and health and happiness retreats
feature in our programming series
Interview: Marc Cohen
Dr Marc Cohen is launching an extreme
bathing retreat and writing children’s
books. He talks to Jane Kitchen
Promotional feature: Vital Tech
Infrared technology is growing in popularity, Vital Tech’s Alexandra Gavsevitch
and Serge Parienti explain how it works
Focus on: Equine therapy
What is equine therapy and how
can spas tap into horsepower?
Kathleen Whyman finds out
Wellness: Chill out
Is going sub-zero the next big thing?
Kath Hudson takes a closer look
at the benefits of cryotherapy
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Noha Khalil of The Wellness discusses how
gym and spa elements are increasingly
coming together through design to
deliver outstanding fitness concepts
Young people who reported higher levels of loneliness had more online-only friends / Bader Oleksii/shutterstock
Loneliness is believed to be as unhealthy as obesity and smoking, and last May leading operators told Spa Business how the industry can help (see SB18/2 p58). By adopting a thoughtful, more inclusive approach spas, with their touch-based treatments, mindfulness therapies and group sessions, are perfectly positioned to reach out to those feeling isolated.
While operators would be forgiven for assuming that older adults are the biggest audience, a new survey reveals that young people between the ages of 16 and 24 experience loneliness more keenly.
Around 55,000 participants from 237 countries took part in the BBC’s Loneliness Experiment, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The results show that 40 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds around the world feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘very often’, compared to only 29 per cent of people aged between 65 to 74, and 27 per cent of 75 and overs.
The survey also shows that young people who report higher levels of loneliness have more online-only Facebook friends than those who report lower levels.
Speaking to UK newspaper The Telegraph Claudia Hammond, who instigated the project, says the findings challenge the stereotype of the isolated elderly, suggesting, instead, an epidemic of loneliness amongst the young.
“I wondered where there is something about the stress of modern life, or young people’s ability to cope with it, that makes them feel lonelier. Or is youth simply a time of life when people feel isolation most keenly?” she asked.
“Young people today have social media. They are more connected than ever before. But this can bring its own problems. If you’re feeling lonely, looking at pictures of other people appearing to have endless fun isn’t going to help with those feelings of isolation.”
Spa Business identified loneliness as an industry trend in 2014: http://lei.sr/H5P3A. It also reported on the impact of loneliness and how spas can position themselves to help address the problem in more depth in issue 2 2015: http://lei.sr/3v3r8 and issue 2 2018: http://lei.sr/H3K1p
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Event saunas, sunlight therapy
and health and happiness retreats
feature in our programming series
Interview: Marc Cohen
Dr Marc Cohen is launching an extreme
bathing retreat and writing children’s
books. He talks to Jane Kitchen
Promotional feature: Vital Tech
Infrared technology is growing in popularity, Vital Tech’s Alexandra Gavsevitch
and Serge Parienti explain how it works
Focus on: Equine therapy
What is equine therapy and how
can spas tap into horsepower?
Kathleen Whyman finds out
Wellness: Chill out
Is going sub-zero the next big thing?
Kath Hudson takes a closer look
at the benefits of cryotherapy
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Noha Khalil of The Wellness discusses how
gym and spa elements are increasingly
coming together through design to
deliver outstanding fitness concepts
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
