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# Young and Wi-Free?
- URL: https://www.europeans.today/2025/05/20/young-and-wi-free/
- Published: 2025-05-20T14:35:12.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-29T22:46:15.000Z
- Description: Nearly half of UK youth aged 16 to 21 say they would prefer life offline, torn between the mental health burden of social media and emotional reliance on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. | Today’s Political Cartoon.
- Author: TODAY's Cartoons
- Tags: Today's Cartoon, TODAY+

A new UK study reveals that almost half of young people aged 16 to 21 would prefer life without the internet, despite being deeply embedded in online life.

70% of UK youth say social media lowers self-esteem, 68% believe online time harms mental health, 50% support a 10pm curfew, and 46% wish the internet never existed. 

The irony highlights their struggle: overwhelmed by social media’s mental health toll, yet emotionally tethered to platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2025/05/0000259-min-2.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png) 

### **GOING FURTHER**

- ###### [Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/20/almost-half-of-young-people-would-prefer-a-world-without-internet-uk-study-finds?ref=europeans.today) | THE GUARDIAN

  
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### **Sources:**

##### ▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY.   

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