Perhaps the real issue is not that young adults have too many online connections, but that some of those connections leave little room for vulnerability

The room is quiet, but her phone is alive.

Lying on her bed, a young woman scrolls through TikTok, laughing at funny videos and sharing the ones she likes. She switches to WhatsApp, replies to messages and sends laughing emojis in a group chat. A few minutes later, she is on Instagram, liking pictures, congratulating friends on their achievements and watching videos of other people's lives.

For a while, she feels connected. There is always something to watch, someone to talk to or a post to comment on. Her phone keeps her occupied, and time passes without her noticing.

Then, suddenly, the screen goes dark.

The room becomes quiet. There are no more videos to watch, messages to reply to or pictures to like. She puts her phone down and looks around. For the first time in a while, there is nothing to distract her from her thoughts.

Despite spending hours interacting with people online, she still feels lonely. How can someone be connected to so many people and still feel alone?

This is a question many young adults are beginning to ask themselves. Social media has made communication easier than ever before. With platforms such as TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram, friends can share jokes, celebrate achievements and stay in touch regardless of distance. Yet, having people to talk to does not always mean having someone who understands what we are going through.

For some young adults, loneliness does not necessarily mean having no friends. It can mean having nobody to talk to about what really matters, feeling misunderstood even in a group, or wishing someone would notice that something is wrong without having to explain everything.

Franklin understands this feeling. He says that being active on social media does not always take away his loneliness.

"Yes, sometimes I feel lonely even when I'm active on social media. I can chat with people and see their posts, but still feel like something is missing.

His experience reflects a difference between being socially active and feeling emotionally connected. A person can have hundreds of followers, receive messages throughout the day and participate in group conversations while still wishing for a genuine connection. Sometimes, what someone needs is not another notification but a friend who can sit with them, listen without judging and offer comfort when things are difficult.

Social media can also influence how young adults view their own lives. Opening Instagram or TikTok often means seeing other people's celebrations, relationships, graduations, holidays and career achievements. Although these moments may be genuine, they rarely show the entire story behind them.

For someone who is struggling financially, looking for a job or uncertain about the future, seeing these posts repeatedly can create the feeling that everyone else is moving forward while they remain in the same place.

Franklin admits that he sometimes experiences this feeling.

"Sometimes I feel happy for them, but at times I compare my life with theirs and feel like I'm falling behind. However, I remind myself that everyone has their own journey and people mostly post their best moments, not their struggles. Our human weakness sometimes makes us compare ourselves," he explains.

His words highlight a familiar struggle among young adults. It is possible to be genuinely happy for a friend and, at the same time, feel disappointed about one's own situation. These feelings do not necessarily mean someone is jealous or wishes others would fail. Sometimes, another person's achievement reminds us of something we are still hoping to achieve ourselves.

The difficulty is that social media makes these comparisons easy to repeat. A person may open an app to relax, only to leave feeling less satisfied with their own life. Without realising it, they may begin measuring their progress against carefully selected moments from other people's experiences.

Remembering that every person has a different journey can help put these feelings into perspective. However, it is also important to recognise that knowing social media shows only part of the story does not automatically stop the emotional impact of what we see.

For Miriam, loneliness is connected to another challenge: the pressure to appear happy even when life is difficult.

"This year has been the worst. I have been battling mental health issues, and no one knew about it because I always portray myself as a happy soul on the internet just to convince people that I'm okay, which is not true," she says.

Miriam's experience reveals a side of social media that is easy to overlook. While people often use these platforms to express themselves, they may also feel pressure to maintain an image that does not reflect their actual feelings.

Someone can post funny videos, share encouraging messages and laugh with friends during a video call while privately dealing with emotional pain. Sometimes, posting happy content becomes a way of avoiding difficult questions from others.

At other times, it is simply easier to show a smiling face than to explain what is happening inside.

The problem is that when people repeatedly present themselves as being fine, those around them may have little reason to suspect otherwise. Friends see the posts and assume everything is okay. The person who is struggling may then feel even more alone because nobody seems to notice.

This raises an important question: how often do we ask our friends how they are doing, and how often do we take their answer at face value?

Miriam also describes feeling lonely even when she is participating in group chats or video calls. Once the conversations end, she is left alone with her thoughts.

Her experience reminds us that the number of conversations we have is not always a reliable measure of how connected we feel. What matters is whether we can be ourselves in those conversations, express difficult emotions and trust that someone will listen without making us feel weak or judged.

Online friendships can still offer meaningful support. For people who live far apart, struggle to make friends in person or find comfort in communities with similar experiences, social media can provide a valuable sense of belonging. A message from a friend at the right moment can make a difficult day feel more manageable.

However, digital communication has limitations. A short message may not reveal the sadness behind someone's words, and a laughing emoji cannot always tell us whether a person is genuinely happy. Even during video calls, people can hide what they are feeling.

Face-to-face interaction can sometimes make it easier to recognise these signs through facial expressions, body language and tone of voice. Spending time together also creates opportunities for conversations that go beyond quick replies and reactions. Nevertheless, physical presence alone does not guarantee understanding; what matters is the willingness to listen and care.

The answer, therefore, is not necessarily to abandon social media. These platforms have become part of everyday life, and they can help young adults maintain friendships, discover opportunities and find communities where they feel accepted. Instead, the challenge is to use them in ways that support, rather than replace, meaningful human relationships.

This may begin with small changes. Taking a break from scrolling when it starts affecting one's mood, avoiding constant comparisons and making time for conversations beyond social media can help. Checking on a friend, inviting someone for a walk or asking a question that goes beyond "How are you?" may also create space for more honest communication.

Most importantly, young adults should feel that they do not have to appear happy all the time to be accepted. Admitting that life is difficult should not be treated as a weakness. When emotional struggles become overwhelming, speaking to a trusted person or seeking professional mental health support can be an important step.

As the young woman in the opening scene puts down her phone, the notifications may continue coming in. Her online friends are still there, and the world beyond her room remains busy. Yet, the quiet around her reminds us that being reachable is not the same as feeling understood.

In a world where people can reach one another in seconds, we should also learn to make time for one another beyond the screen. A message can begin a friendship, a comment can brighten someone's day, and a video call can bring people closer. But genuine connection also means noticing when a friend goes quiet, listening when someone admits they are struggling and creating relationships where nobody has to pretend to be okay.

Ultimately, the question is not how many people we can reach online. It is whether, when the screen goes dark and life becomes difficult, we have someone we can turn to without fear of being judged.