Virtual social interaction and loneliness among emerging adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Towner, Emily, Tomova, Livia, Ladensack, Danielle, Chu, Kristen and Callaghan, Bridget 2022. Virtual social interaction and loneliness among emerging adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology 3 , p. 100058. 10.1016/j.cresp.2022.100058

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Abstract

Many social activities moved online during the global COVID-19 pandemic, yet research investigating whether virtual social interactions facilitate social connectedness has been inconclusive. In this study, participants completed online questionnaires assessing objective social isolation, loneliness, mental health, and virtual social interactions. There was clear evidence for worsening mental health among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic characterized by large increases in depressive symptoms (mean increase = 8.35, 95% CI [6.97, 9.73], t(118) = 118, p < .001), and large decrements in happiness (mean decrease = -0.71, 95% CI [-0.84, -0.57], t(118) = 10.09, p < .001) and social satisfaction (mean decrease = -0.81, 95% CI [-1.00,-0.62], t(115) = 8.28, p < .001) post-pandemic onset. In line with expectations, those living in larger households amid the pandemic reported lower levels of loneliness and higher levels of happiness. A negative association was found between household size (an index of objective social isolation) and loneliness, b = -3.01, t(79) = 2.60, p = .011, 95% CI [-5.32, -0.71], and a positive association was found between household size and happiness, b = 22.86, t(75) = 3.30, p = .001, 95% CI [9.06, 36.65]. However, contrary to expectations, there was no association between loneliness and frequency of virtual social interactions. There was also no association between frequency of virtual social interactions and either happiness or depression. More research investigating social connectedness in the context of virtual social interactions is warranted.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2666-6227
Date of Acceptance:	28 July 2018
Last Modified:	03 Jun 2024 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169158

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