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Loneliness
Did People Get Lonelier During the Pandemic?
New research gives an answer, and experts weigh in on what you can do.
Posted April 7, 2022 Reviewed by Lybi Ma
Key points
- Studies on whether people have felt lonelier since the start of the pandemic have been conflicting.
- Now, new research that aggregates data from around the world confirms that loneliness has slightly increased.
- Experts share recommendations for how individuals can foster connection in a new report.
Over the past two years, I have been asked this common question: How has the pandemic affected people’s social health?
Early on, my answer was optimistic. Rather than people feeling disconnected in the first few months of lockdowns and physical distancing, research showed that loneliness rates did not change on average, and some people felt more connected than they had before. This still rang true in January 2021, when a meta-analysis found no significant impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on loneliness or social support.
Since then, I’ve held off on drawing conclusions, waiting for more time to pass, and keeping an eye on new studies—many of which had conflicting findings. Now that we’re past the two-year mark, it’s a good time to take stock: In the context of pandemic fluctuations and evolving regulations, have people been able to socially thrive?
What the Data Reveals
In the hierarchy of research methods, systematic reviews and meta-analyses provide the highest quality evidence, because they critically examine and summarize the results from all other studies on a given topic. A new systematic review with meta-analysis that will soon be published in American Psychologist is particularly compelling.
Researchers examined data on over 200,000 people of different ages in countries around the world to determine whether overall levels and prevalence rates of loneliness have changed. Importantly, they only included studies that had evaluated people’s social relationships prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as after.
The studies they analyzed varied considerably, with some reporting increases in loneliness, others reporting decreases, and still others reporting no change. However, taken together, the researchers concluded that there has been an overall increase in loneliness—albeit a small one—since the start of the pandemic. It’s not certain that the pandemic caused this increase, and indeed past research suggests that people’s social health has been deteriorating since well before the pandemic. But the finding is nonetheless concerning.
What We Can Do
The good news is that every individual, community, and organization can contribute to building a more meaningfully connected culture. Whether in your day-to-day life or in your workplace, there are steps you can take to strengthen social ties.
Over the past year, my colleagues and I at Social Health Labs and the Foundation for Social Connection convened 26 experts and over 2,500 community members from 55 countries to explore solutions for loneliness and opportunities to foster community through healthcare, technology, government, education, and other sectors. In a new report titled “Creating the Conditions for Social Well-Being,” we summarize the insights and recommendations. For example:
- Teachers can make peer relations a priority alongside academic achievement and structure schoolwork for greater connection among students.
- Urban planners can build shared spaces for people to gather, involve the community in their design, and activate them through programming.
- Managers can create psychological safety and reward employees who support their coworkers to promote a more connected workplace.
I invite you to read the full report and reflect on how you might take action. While loneliness may have increased over the past two years, it’s up to each of us to help reverse the trend.
