In her article Eylül Bombacı explores the fragility of social cohesion in the UK, where economic precarity, political polarisation, and digital saturation have left many young people isolated.
Social cohesion gets increasingly fragile in the UK. Economic precarity, political polarisation, and the digital saturation of everyday life have all reshaped how young people connect with one another and with society at large. In this system, youth become isolated with declining support to put them in education or employment, as communities tend to fizzle out, and social media deepens the effect by creating a social mirage.
However, the opportunities for cohesion sit uneasily beside profound challenges. According to the Financial Times, this year, the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training in the UK has risen sharply over the past year. [1] 13.4 per cent of 907 thousand young people in the UK were classed as “NEETS” by the Office for National Statistics. Many believe the education system does not adequately prepare them to be active and fulfilled citizens. At the same time, younger generations value global mobility and international cooperation, even as Britain retreats from its European ties. They want to see their country take leadership on global challenges, harnessing education, research, and innovation to support progress.
Mental Health Crisis
Research says that Gen Z is the unhappiest generation of all, struggling with mental health issues alongside economic challenges.[2] This is also affected by new political environments and humanitarian crises emerging around the world. The digital era complicates matters further. Social media has become both a tool for connection and a source of disconnection. On the one hand, it enables communities to form across borders, providing platforms for activism and inclusion. On the other hand, it fosters polarisation, misinformation, and unhealthy habits that leave people more stressed and detached from real-world relationships. Alongside this, political currents—ranging from anti-immigrant movements to anti-EDI sentiment undermining inclusivity and communal trust.
Yet these same conditions can inspire renewal. Even within a fragmented digital landscape, young people are building re-communalization through online communities, inclusive aesthetics, and platforms that allow them to promote causes they care about. At the same time, new anti-digital movements are emerging, from student-led digital detox initiatives to clubs dedicated to offline connection. Together, these reveal a deep hunger for grounding, balance, and authentic community.
Can we live together?
The question “Can we live together?” posed by sociologist Alain Touraine is more urgent than ever. He describes globalisation as a process of “de-modernisation,” in which politics, culture, and economy no longer align. This disjunction pushes societies towards inward-looking identity groups, eroding broader cohesion. Touraine’s answer lies in cultivating “subjects”: individuals who integrate their personal stories into collective history and who see themselves as part of shared humanity rather than isolated identities.
Young people in the UK are already moving in this direction, even if institutions lag behind. They are building communities through empathy, collaboration, and impact-oriented projects. They are demanding that cohesion be grounded in both global responsibility and local solidarity. They are reimagining what it means to belong in a time when traditional anchors are slipping away. A jazz jam community in East London, a chess club that turns into a disco night in the evening, or an upcycling clothing collective… All these grassroots projects emerge from the sense of community.
The lesson is clear. If we want a society where we can live together, we must listen to the ways youth envision cohesion. That means investing in spaces where they can meet and grow, addressing structural inequalities that undermine mental health and economic opportunity, and taking seriously their calls for global cooperation. Cohesion cannot be imposed from above; it must be built from the ground up, through communities that make space for difference while weaving together common stories.
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/17db8693-3649-4268-a1d2-ddd4eda5f395
[2] https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/what-are-young-people-uk-thinking