63% of young people feel lonely according to the Corona Health Monitor Young Adults 2022. They have no or few friends. Or they have friends or family around them but still feel alone. Because they feel disconnected, unseen, or misunderstood. Prolonged loneliness can lead to various mental issues, such as insecurity, stress, and sadness. Physical complaints can also arise. Talking about it is important to prevent emerging mental issues from worsening.

Through the PodKastjes, you can hear how talking helps other young people and how they do it. Among others, Jennate (19) shares her story. She has felt lonely for a long time between two cultures. “I come from a small village in Limburg. My parents grew up in Morocco. At Christmas or Easter brunch at school, I was the only one with different food. At birthday parties, I had to go home early. My friends from Limburg didnt understand why I couldnt have certain things. I couldnt talk to anyone about it. Slowly, I felt more and more depressed and isolated. I have now moved to Nijmegen and am studying psychology. Here I found a study friend with whom I can talk about how I feel. It helps.”

State Secretary Van Ooijen: “As a society, we really need to pay more attention to loneliness among young people. We cant let it happen that almost two-thirds feel alone, can we? Young people often find it difficult to talk about it, for example, because they think they are the only ones. With this campaign, we want to show that they are truly not alone. With the ‘Hey, it’s okay PodKastjes’, we want to give them the confidence to start the conversation. We can all do something; sometimes just offering a listening ear is enough.”

Sometimes young people find it difficult to talk to someone in their environment, such as a friend, parent, or teacher. It is also possible to call anonymously with a volunteer from, for example, the ‘Everything okay? Support Line’.

Besides Jennate, Mees (24), Sarah (21), Isaac (21), and Dionysia (19) also share their stories. In the campaign podcast, they tell how it feels to be alone and how they discovered that they are not the only ones. You will also hear how they start a conversation with someone they know and how they feel afterward. The stories can be listened to via the ‘Hey, it’s okay PodKastjes’, but also via Spotify and social media.