Loneliness and alcohol use higher among young women in Bilbao

Young women in Bilbao report higher loneliness and heavy drinking than men

A municipal study on lifestyle habits in Bilbao presents an uncomfortable picture: among those aged 18 to 29, 30% of women report feeling lonely, compared to 21% of men. Only 14% of them claim no emotional problems; for men, this figure rises to 36.4%. Regarding consumption, 64.3% of young women engage in heavy alcohol intake, versus 48% of young men. Smoking rates are 20.7% for women and 13% for men.

This data is not a mere health anecdote. It reflects an age group where gender differences widen across almost all indicators, just when equality was supposed to be consolidated. The official interpretation points to a regression in achievements and the resurgence of sens discourse online. A less charitable reading targets the narrative itself: if young women have more social, cultural, and legal advantages than ever, why are well-being indicators worsening?

What the municipal study says about loneliness and emotional health

The report "Healthy Habits and Lifestyles in the Population of Bilbao," produced by the City Council, measures self-reported feelings, not clinical diagnoses. This is the first pitfall. 30% of women aged 18 to 29 in Bilbao feel lonely, the highest percentage among all age groups in the city. Among men in that bracket, it is 21%. The gap repeats in general health: 76.4% of women report satisfaction, versus 92.8% of men. In sleep: 35.6% of women do not get enough rest; men, 25.1%.

Some argue these figures measure willingness to verbalize distress rather than distress itself. Self-perception surveys reward honest respondents and penalize those who conceal issues. If women report more, it may be because they have greater social permission to do so. However, this methodological objection does not explain consumption patterns. 64.3% of young women drink four or more units per session, the highest rate in Bilbao. This is not a feeling: it is measurable behavior.

Why young women smoke and drink more than men at this age

Psychologist Ana Estévez, a professor at the University of Deusto, offers an explanation included in the report: until ages 13 or 14, depression incidence is similar between boys and girls; thereafter, depressive symptoms and sadness spike in females. She cites social pressure regarding physical image as a key driver. Alcohol acts as an anesthetic, while tobacco is associated with anxiety. Higher distress leads to increased consumption.

The other pillar of the argument is imitation. Women drink like men, or more, in an attempt to mirror male behavior that often goes too far. The pendulum swings back harder, leading to excess. This trend also appears in gambling-related disorders, where young women are increasingly affected. The result is a paradox: the generation with the most legal and cultural tools for equality also records the worst well-being indicators in their age group.

The role of social media and youth content consumption

The official diagnosis focuses on education and the digital environment. José Miguel Fernández, president of the Clara Campoamor association, summarizes: "In this area, in education, we are failing." Boys and girls are educated differently, not only in school but also in families, on the internet, and on the street. As an extreme consequence, the report notes an increase in sensual assaults against younger girls by acquaintances, and rising gender-based violence in young couples.

Criticism of the educational system is explicit: authority crisis, teachers avoiding sanctions due to antiestéticar of bureaucracy and complaints, and a sense of abandonment among youth. At home, childcare is often delegated to grandparents—sometimes with traditional roles—or directly to tablets and smartphones. Consequently, much adolescent socialization occurs on platforms where content exaggerating gender roles proliferates, and trends like "zero-km girls" or "tradwives" go viral. These are not neutral sources. They are the primary material shaping personality at this age.

Gender gap in consumption: report data

• Loneliness: 30% of women vs. 21% of men
• Emotional problems: 86% of women suffer from them; 63.6% of men
• Health satisfaction: 76.4% of women vs. 92.8% of men
• Heavy alcohol consumption: 64.3% of women vs. 48% of men
• Tobacco: 20.7% of women vs. 13% of men

Comparison with other age groups is the most troubling aspect. In older demographics, the distance between men and women narrows across nearly all indicators. This means measured inequality does not grow with age: it concentrates in youth. This challenges the intuition that time favors equality. It leaves an uncomfortable question: if the gap widens precisely in the generation most exposed to gender discourse, something in the narrative is not working as expected.

Two opposing interpretations of the same data

One analysis argues these numbers prove regression: achievements believed to be consolidated are unraveling, driven by sens discourse on social media. Another counters that achievements were never truly consolidated, formal equality did not translate into real well-being, and now the hole is visible. Both readings share the diagnosis—young women are worse off—but disagree on the cause.

There is a third, less comfortable view for the official narrative: that distress is being measured with instruments that amplify complaint, and that cross-gender comparisons are contaminated by differing willingness to disclose. This is a reasonable objection, but it does not explain why alcohol and tobacco consumption, which does not depend on respondent honesty, also spikes among women. Behavior cannot be attributed solely to response bias.

What if the problem is neither regression nor lack of achievement, but that equality has been built on an imitation model that penalizes those who adopt it? The question remains open. For now, the data only show who is worse off. They do not say why.