Pandemic isolation was a positive experience for many

DOI: 10.3389 / fpsyg.2021.714518

Commentary

Time spent alone during a pandemic had a positive effect on well-being for all ages, according to a new study.

It was a study of more than 2,000 teenagers and adults and found that most benefited from solitude in the early days of the global Covid-19 pandemic. All age groups experienced both positive and negative effects of being alone, but found that the depiction of loneliness contained more positive than negative effects.

While some study participants talked about worsening mood and well-being, most described their experiences of loneliness in terms of emotions, competence, and autonomy, with 43% of all respondents saying that loneliness included time spent building skills and activity by activity and experience of competence, and was consistent across all ages. Working-age adults recorded the most negative experiences, with more participants mentioning disruption of happiness (35.6% of adolescents vs. 29.4% and 23.7% of older adults) negative mood (44% of adolescents vs. 27.8% and 24.5% of older adults). The cost of feeling alienated and not interacting with friends is twice as frequent in adolescents (about 1 in 7, or 14.8%) compared to adults (7%), with older adults mentioning it least often (2.3%).