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Loneliness pandemic -

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have spent more time by ourselves over the past year than we have over the course of our entire lives.

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Loneliness pandemic -

Between lockdowns, social distancing, and the global shift to work from home, many of us have had to come to terms with spending an unprecedented amount of time alone.

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Return to normal -

Perhaps to your surprise, as things start to go back to normal you may find it more difficult than you once would to interact normally with your friends and family.

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Isolation and the brain -

Research suggests that solitude and isolation can have a considerable impact on our brains. A key study by German scientists that looked into this was published in December 2019.

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The 2019 study -

The study focused on a group of nine polar explorers who lived at a research station in Antarctica for 14 months. 

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Impact on memory -

Firstly, the study showed that on average the region of the brain associated with memory shrunk by around 7% over the course of the expedition.

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Impact on intelligence -

The explorers also performed worse on two intelligence tests at the end of the expedition, one for spatial processing and the other for selective attention.

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Speculative conclusions -

Those leading the study speculated that the decline in brain function can be attributed to the prolonged social isolation and general monotony experienced by the explorers.

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Impact on social skills -

The study did not measure the participants’ social skills, but other research has shown that expeditioners who “overwinter” in Antarctica are more socially dysfunctional in midwinter.

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COVID-19 and the brain -

The question as to how COVID-19 measures may be affecting our social skills is complex and difficult to answer. Let’s start by distinguishing between "solitude" and "loneliness."

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Solitude vs. loneliness -

One can experience solitude without being lonely; it can be thought of as a contented state. Loneliness, on the other hand, involves feelings of isolation and a yearning for social interaction.

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Well-documented phenomenon -

The negative impact that loneliness can have on our social skills is well documented. Firstly, research shows that loneliness can make it more difficult for sufferers to interact normally with others.

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Loneliness and social skills -

For example, lonely people are likely to feel social threats, such as saying the wrong thing, more deeply than people who are not lonely.

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Loneliness and social skills -

They are more likely to subscribe to confirmation bias and interpret the words and actions of others in a way that supports their own negative outlook.

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Loneliness and social skills -

People suffering from loneliness are also less able to regulate their own thoughts and feelings, a skill that is critical when it comes to complying with social norms.

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The loneliness loop -

All of this contributes to what is called the "loneliness loop," in which isolation leads to toxic feelings of low self-esteem and stress, which in turn make people withdraw further.

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Solitude and social skills -

Solitude, on the other hand, is traditionally thought of as benign. Philosophers, religious leaders, and artists all have good things to say about solitude.

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Mounting evidence -

However, there is more and more evidence to suggest that retreating into isolation is never good, even if it is done on purpose.

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Mounting evidence -

For instance, one 2014 study showed that adolescents who prefer to spend time on their own will tend to be less socially able.

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The importance of social interaction -

It seems, then, that interacting with others is important if we want to maintain our social skills. And research shows that this is particularly true for children.

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For the kids -

According to psychologist and author Ty Tashiro, young people need face-to-face contact to “learn about the abundance of social cues and expectations that happen when you're in a real-life situation.”

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Animal research -

Indeed, there is an abundance of research, albeit most of it related to animals, that shows how important social contact is during brain development.

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Animal research -

For instance, studies show that rats who are raised alone have smaller brains and that social fish who are reared in isolation become less co-operative.

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Human research -

In one study of a group of Portuguese preschoolers, those children who had more social engagement experienced an increase in their social ability.

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Other evidence -

There is also research to suggest that after school activities are great for social skills, and that growing up with siblings makes us more able to navigate this social world.

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Don't panic -

If this all sounds like reason enough for despair in these times of COVID-19, home office, and homeschooling, do not fear. There may be some perks to solitude, too.

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Perks of being in solitude -

According to Tashiro, a bit of social awkwardness makes a person a great companion, because they have to think more about a person’s feelings or how to respond to a situation.

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Perks of being in solitude -

And according to Nigel Ansell, who lived in extreme isolation for five years, living in isolation can be a great challenge for you to see how self-sufficient you really are.

Sources: (BBC)

See also: The best lessons we can learn from isolation

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