Positive engagement with our neighbours, such as exchanging favours or stopping to talk and our sense of belonging to our neighbourhoods across the UK is falling according to analysis released this morning by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Added to that our trust in national government fell by 11 percentage points in the year to autumn 2019 while within our families, parents in the UK were less likely to regularly give help to, and receive help from, their adult children not living with them.
“Our social capital findings show that we are engaging less with our neighbours but more with social media. We also note that we feel safer walking alone after dark in our neighbourhoods, but more recently fewer of us feel like we belong to them.” said Eleanor Rees, Head of Social Well-being Analysis team, Office for National Statistics.
Although we remain more likely to regularly stop and talk to our neighbours than to borrow things from and exchange favours with them , the proportion saying they regularly speak to their neighbours declined.
individuals are less likely to engage with wider interests through organisational membership in both the shorter and longer terms. Also, compared with 2011 to 2012, people are less likely to provide help to others through providing special help to sick, elderly or disabled persons or through parental links after children have left home.
People are more likely to say they have at least one close friend and to have used the internet for social networking in the last three months.
