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We’re a teen residential treatment facility in Arizona and Idaho, offering support for teens and resources to help parents navigate their child’s challenges.
It can be painful watching your son spend every weekend alone or struggle to make a simple phone call.
You might wonder if he’s lonely or just doesn’t know how to connect.
Making friends is a skill, just like learning a sport or a video game. Some kids pick it up naturally, while others need a little extra coaching.
This guide will help you
- Understand why your son might be struggling
- Learn how to help him build confidence without making him feel pressured
Why your teenage son may have no social life
There is rarely just one reason a teen boy stops socializing. Often, it’s a mix of things that make being around others feel heavy or scary.
Anxiety and depression
A UK study of over 26,000 teens found that boys struggling with anxiety or depression were more likely to lose friends over time.
These emotional struggles can make teen boys
- Avoid social situations, even when they want to make connections.
- Lose touch with friends
Struggles with ADHD
In the United States, surveys show that about 11.4 percent of children aged 3–17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. But studies suggest many go undiagnosed.
A recent study found that boys with ADHD often have fewer close friendships and gradually lose peer support during high school. If your teenager seems unhappy or socially withdrawn, it might be due to undiagnosed ADHD.
ADHD is linked with
- Acting out, interrupting, or speaking without thinking, which can push peers away
- Misinterpreting what others mean and failing to notice when they’ve upset someone
Pressure to be “tough”
A 2025 study of teen boys found that those who strongly conformed to masculinity norms trusted friends less and felt more lonely.
Many said they didn’t show emotion because they feared judgment or losing respect.
This pressure to act tough can prevent boys from building close friendships because they
- Hold back emotions
- Avoid deep conversations
- See sharing as risky
- Focus on status over connection
Bullying
A 2022 study showed that teen boys who were bullied often at school or on the internet felt much more lonely than other kids.
Bullying affects boys’ social lives in several ways. They may
- Withdraw or isolate themselves, afraid of being targeted
- Experience deep loneliness
- Feel ashamed to talk
Questioning gender or sexuality
A 2021 study found that LGBTQ+ boys felt much more lonely than boys who are straight. LGBTQ+ or questioning boys also may
- Feel excluded at school
- Worry about judgment
- Rely on online spaces, which can’t replace real-world friendship
Ethnic or cultural differences
A 2024 study showed that boys feel much more lonely when they are in classrooms with very few students from the same ethnic background.
Such boys may
- Hide their identity, downplaying their culture to avoid standing out
- Feel that they can’t share interests or experiences with classmates.
- Avoid school social groups
- Worry about fitting in
Digital and screen-time isolation
Excessive gaming and social media use doesn’t just displace face-to-face time. It can also change how boys interact offline. Excessive screen time makes adolescents:
- Miss out on real-world social skills practice
- Feel nervous around peers
- Lose self-confidence by comparing themselves to online influencers and personalities
- Prefer online over real-life friends
How to help your teen son make friends
You are your son’s first social coach. Here are some ways you can support him without being overbearing.
Make your home a “landing pad”
Let your house be the spot where friends can hang out with zero pressure. Offer snacks, a game console, or just a quiet place to watch a movie.
Practice social scripts
If he’s nervous about joining a conversation, practice short sentences with him at home. It sounds simple, but knowing what to say first can lower his anxiety.
Focus on interests, not friends
Instead of telling him to “go meet people,” help him find a club or group focused on something he loves—like coding, music, or a local sport. It’s easier to talk when you are busy doing something fun.
Organize group friendship activities
You don’t need a formal club or class to help your son build friendships. Research from a 2023 study shows that simple group activities and shared tasks can improve social skills.
Follow these tips
- Listen more, fix less: Sometimes your son just needs to vent about a bad day at school. You don’t always have to provide a solution right away.
- Celebrate small wins: If he texts a friend or joins a club meeting, notice it!
- Be patient: Social skills don’t grow overnight. Stay consistent and stay on his team.
Want to learn more about how to improve social skills?
These guides can help you build trust and stay close to your teen as he works on making friends and improving his social skills.
Finding the path to connection
It’s hard to watch your son struggle to find a social place, but he doesn’t have to navigate this journey alone.
Social skills take time, practice, and support to grow. By being patient and supportive, you give him the foundation he needs to build a more connected future.
If your son’s social isolation is paired with anxiety, depression, or a total withdrawal from life, it may be time for a more structured approach.
At Avery’s House, we specialize in helping teen boys move past the barriers that keep them alone.
Take the first step today
- Talk to a specialist: Have a private, no-pressure conversation with our team to discuss your son’s specific challenges.
- Check your insurance: Use our quick online tool to see how your plan covers residential or outpatient support.
- Look at our programs: See how our centers in Arizona and Idaho, along with our online classes, help teen boys gain confidence and make real friends.
(855) 506-1906
Sources
- Cheng, Q., Mills‐Webb, K., Marquez, J., & Humphrey, N. (2025). Longitudinal relationships across bullying victimization, friendship and social support, and internalizing symptoms in early‐to‐middle adolescence: A developmental cascades investigation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-02131-2
- Harkins, C., Menezes, M., Sadikova, E., & Mazurek, M. (2023). Friendship and anxiety/depression symptoms in boys with and without autism spectrum disorder. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 128(2), 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-128.2.119
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, November 19). Data and statistics on ADHD. https://www.cdc.gov/adhd/data/index.html
- Li, Y., Yan, X., Li, Q., Li, Q., Xu, G., Lu, J., & Yang, W. (2023). Prevalence and trends in diagnosed ADHD among US children and adolescents, 2017–2022. JAMA Network Open, 6(10), e2336872. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.36872
- Neprily, K. M., Climie, E. A., McCrimmon, A., & Makarenko, E. (2025). Why can’t we be friends? A narrative review of the challenges of making and keeping friends for children and adolescents with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 2, 1390791. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2024.1390791
- Neilson, E. C., & Maitland, D. W. M. (2025). Masculinity, social connection, and loneliness: A contextual behavioral science approach to men’s social relationships and intimacy. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 36, 100892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2025.100892
- Madsen, K. R., Damsgaard, M. T., Petersen, K., Qualter, P., & Holstein, B. E. (2024). Bullying at school, cyberbullying, and loneliness: National representative study of adolescents in Denmark. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 414. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040414
- Charmaraman, L., Hodes, R., & Richer, A. M. (2021). Young Sexual Minority Adolescent Experiences of Self-expression and Isolation on Social Media: Cross-sectional Survey Study. JMIR Mental Health, 8(9), e26207. https://doi.org/10.2196/26207
- Barth, C., & Grütter, J. (2024). Inclusive classroom norms and children’s expectations of inclusion of peers with learning difficulties in their social world. Journal of School Psychology, 104, 101312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2024.101312
- Płatos, M., Wojaczek, K., & Laugeson, E. A. (2023). Effects of social skills training for adolescents on the autism spectrum: A randomized controlled trial of the Polish adaptation of the PEERS® intervention via hybrid and in-person delivery. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 4132–4146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05714-9