24 May 2018

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Communication skills are essential for young people.

We’ve all heard of the lost generation but are we now seeing the lonely generation?

According to recent research Gen Z are the loneliest generation and it all comes down to the amount of time spent on smartphones.

According to the report, around half of respondents said that they sometimes or always feel either alone or left out. When you think about it, that’s unsurprisingly. It’s become a part of normal life to broadcast every activity online – who you are with, what you’re doing. When you’re a young person, there’s no way that you can be at every single event or party. It’s impossible. Yet that’s going to lead to feelings of missing out, or worse, being left out.

Communication is essential

On top of this, 56% of adults in the survey said that they sometimes or always feel that the people around them are ‘not necessarily with them’. How can we build meaningful bonds and relationships with people when we’re never truly engaging with one another?

When your attention is focussed on a screen rather than on those around you, you miss vital communication cues like body language and eye contact. How frustrating is it when you realise someone is barely listening to you!

It’s the same in business. We’ve seen a sharp rise in the number of young people who are uncomfortable picking up the phone rather than sending an email or having a face-to-face conversation. It’s impossible to build strong relationships with colleagues or clients unless you’re really getting to know them and that’s impossible to do if you’re not really engaging.

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