Back in 2009, almost 1 in 5 young people had gone out and about after 9 pm at least once in the past month. But by 2021, that figure dropped drastically to 1 in 16!

It’s no surprise that 2020 saw a particularly big drop – we were all stuck at home, before and after 9pm for much of that year! Although that the drop was sustained into 2021 it seems to have returned to the pre-pandemic rate of almost 1 in 10, but that's still half of the number that were reporting being out late in 2009.

This is part of an ongoing trend whereby young people are spending less time out with friends, or in homes with friends (see Chart 3 in the Relationships section). But while they might be out less, young people are ramping up their online interactions with friends (see Chart 2 and Chart 5 in the Life Online section). With a world of entertainment and social connection at their finger tips, why would they meet up in the park, or trek to each other’s homes later at night?

And this shift from in-person hangouts to digital ones may be the driver of other trends we see, from a drop in drinking and smoking, to a delay in having sex or romantic relationships and even an increase in loneliness.