Three years ago, Felix Wunnike realized he had struck a chord with young people. Whenever the business psychology graduate posts videos on his TikTok account about "finding friends," his followers respond immediately.

"Even when I just said in the video, 'Send this video to your best friend,' the top comment with the most likes was always something like, 'I don't have any friends,'" Wunnike told DW. "I noticed that many of my younger followers feel really lonely and say that they really don't have any friends at all. That shocked me a lot."

While loneliness can make it more difficult for adults to find a job and keep it, for young people it can affect their grades in school. Wunnike has now written a self-help book entitled "Everything You Need to Know About Finding a Friend."

Wunnike has identified two reasons for this trend: the COVID-19 pandemic and social media.

"Despite all the positive aspects, I think it's important to warn people about the downsides and dangers of social media usage, namely that we forget about real life. When we look at our friends' Instagram stories, we overlook the importance of building friendships in real life."

According to a recent study by the World Health Organization, one in six people worldwide feels lonely. Among teenagers, it's even one in five. Loneliness is becoming an increasingly serious problem in Germany, according to a survey carried out by one of the........

© Deutsche Welle