Twentysomethings in Toronto are more depressed and financially troubled than older generations, new study finds

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Toronto residents in their 20s are more depressed, anxious and financially troubled than those in older generations, and can benefit from more in-person and meaningful engagements at work, a new report has found.

The study published on Wednesday by the Toronto Foundation charity highlighted that people in their 20s are suffering from loneliness, food insecurity and mental health issues at unprecedented rates.

“Younger people are feeling increasingly more financially precarious. They are six times more likely to access a food bank than they were about five years ago,” said Mohamed Huque, a director with the charity. “The numbers are quite alarming.”

Researchers found that 45 per cent of Toronto residents between ages 18 and 29 said their mental health is fair or poor. Thirty-nine per cent reported symptoms consistent with major depressive disorders and 31 per cent reported anxiety symptoms.

Forty per cent of Torontonians in that age bracket said they are concerned about paying their rent or mortgage each month and 44 per cent reported feeling lonely at least three days a week.

Most of the results for the younger group are a great deal worse than those in the study aged 30 and up. Rates of depression, anxiety and fear about housing costs were twice as bad for the younger cohort.

“The disparities are quite stark,” Huque said. “Forty per cent of twentysomethings are saying that they're lonely most of the week. That's compared to only 31 per cent of those 30 and up.”

He added that concerns around being able to pay rent and being able to access food banks have “skyrocketed” over the years.

Twentysomethings comprise a large share of the city’s population with about 430,000 people aged 20 to 29 in the City of Toronto, the study stated. Most of these residents do not own their own homes. Seventy-two per cent of households led by those aged 25 to 34 are renters.

The study noted that the COVID-19 pandemic posed a lot of challenges for people aged 18 to 30 in Toronto, and even as the pandemic faded, the “enduring nature of the mental health crisis” became clear.

The report noted that much of the mental health challenges for the age group are fuelled by affordability issues.

“This increase in affordability challenges may be one of the key reasons for mental health deteriorating even years after the pandemic restrictions,” the study stated.

Screen time use also surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study noted, with more than one in four young Canadians (aged 16 to 34) spending six or more hours of their personal time on screens per day.

“We cannot know for sure how much people with depression are driven to using screens and how much excessive screen time has contributed to poor mental health,” the study stated.

“But it is a clear case that we need to provide people with high quality, affordable opportunities to engage in-person as part of any solutions to our current mental health crisis.”

Researchers in the study suggested that one solution to the current crisis is to get young people back into the office and employed.

The study noted that young workers and many respondents said they are eager to return to the office. Half of the 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed said they want to work in-person four days a week or more.

“I think one of the things that we're really trying to do is call on employees, in particular, to offer opportunities for younger people to have meaningful engagements and connections at work,” Huque said.

“Twentysomethings report far more a desire to come into the office than their older counterparts to have meaningful engagements, opportunities for team building in-person, face-to-face, that's such a critical piece.”