Impacts of social isolation in the context of covid-19: a review

• Main Authors: Sulaiman, Adam, Tan, Brandon
• Other Authors: Lin Qiu
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165944
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Social isolation is a growing and pervasive phenomenon which has been gaining traction since the mid 2000s. The social distancing and quarantine restrictions enacted by governments to curb the proliferation of Covid-19 have only exacerbated this issue of social isolation. In view of this, extensive research has been conducted to investigate how social isolation due to the pandemic has impacted the lives of people across the various age groups. This paper synthesises and reviews the impacts of social isolation in the context of Covid-19 on the following age demographics: children and youths, adults, and the elderly. Upon reviewing the literature, it was found that social isolation has primarily impacted the learning, social, behavioural, cognitive and psychological domains of people’s lives in a negative way. However, it must be said that there are a handful of studies which reported positive outcomes in these life domains. Overall, the current paper paints a holistic picture of how people of the three different age groups have each been impacted by Covid-19 social isolation and it can inform future research looking to explore any particular association further. Keywords: social isolation, Covid-19, loneliness, mental health, technology, sedentary lifestyle, relationship quality