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Large said the findings really hit home for him because he has three children in the 18 to 24 category: two are 18 and one is 23. He said while they were growing up, they seemed to spend much of their time at home “attached to their phones.”

He said social distancing may make younger people feel as if they have had a choice taken away from them.

“That to me was the thing that really stood out: younger people are really having a lot of trouble with this — a lot more than older folks.”

He said it’s really important for employers to stay connected and engaged with younger employees.

“We don’t have the opportunity to chit chat around the water cooler or all go out for lunch together. How do we as employers help ease those challenges?” he said.

The focus to date by public health authorities and media, he said, has been to reach out to older Canadians because they’re more at risk from the new coronavirus and stand to benefit more from social distancing.

“At the same time, maybe we should be looking backwards,” Large said. “The threat to (younger people’s) personal health is lower, but their mental health feels like it could be a lot higher.”

The poll found other significant differences depending on age: 56 per cent of people aged 55 and older were going online more, compared to 76 per cent for 18 to 34 year-olds. When it comes to increased tensions, disagreements or fights with family members, the older age group says there has only been eight per cent more; younger respondents, 26 per cent more.