Loneliness vs. solitude: Study finds early COVID isolation was positive for many

Isolation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been a struggle for many people, but new research shows some people flourished when alone during anearly round of lockdowns.

A study of more than 2,000 teens and adults in the U.K. found that for the most part, everyone had both positive and negative experiences during the country’s first national lockdown because of COVID-19. But researchers learned people found their solitude to have more positive than negative effects on their well-being — particularly older adults who more frequently reported feeling peaceful and less socially alienated than teens.

Forty-three percent of participants across all age groups said their solitude involved activities that helped them feel accomplished, according to the study published Nov. 1 in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

An unidentified 14-year-old male said, “I’ve learned some new languages and studied some new things on the internet...to enjoy life more.” A 42-year-old female said, “I’ve learned that I prefer more productive and studious pastimes as opposed to things like watching TV and playing video games.”

Meanwhile, others said pandemic isolation helped them feel more connected to themselves and free from the pressures and expectations of others; Adults reported this sense of autonomy twice as often as teens.

“I learnt to listen to my own desires, needs and wishes. I tried to enjoy the moments and the activities I really like,” a 36-year-old male reported in the study. Another 77-year-old male said, “I have been able to feel quite relaxed, feeling I had nobody to answer to but myself.”

Other positive effects from pandemic isolation were a greater appreciation for nature and bigger focuses on self-growth and care.

Negative experiences were also felt by all age groups

Working adults were the most likely to report negative experiences (36% compared to about 30% in teens) such as disrupted well-being because of a lack of structure and human connection, as well as poor mood (44% compared to about 28% in teens).

Teens, on the other hand, were twice as likely to report feeling the effects of not enjoying their friends’ company compared to adults — a common findings among studies on mental health during the pandemic.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found 63% of people between ages 18-24 were experiencing anxiety or depression during summer 2020. A separate report by Harvard University’s “Making Caring Common” found 36% of all respondents, including 61% of young people, felt “serious loneliness” during the pandemic.

Researchers of the new paper say studies typically focus on the “drawbacks of solitude,” such as loneliness and social anxiety, but they say their work highlights the benefits of solitude.

The team calls it “self-determined motivation.” It’s when people choose to spend time by themselves for themselves, according to lead study author Dr. Netta Weinstein, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Reading in England.

“As we all adjusted to a ‘new normal,’ many working adults found that usual moments of being alone, whether on their commute or during a work break were disrupted. Even for the most ardent of extroverts, these small windows of peace show the important role of time alone for our mental health,” Weinstein said in a news release. “It also suggests that certain experiences of solitude are learned or valued increasingly with age, having an effect to reduce the impact of negative elements of loneliness and generally boosting well-being.”