Meaningful Social Interactions Research Articles

Are social interactions perceived as more meaningful in older adulthood?

Social relationships accompany us throughout adulthood and are among the most important sources of meaning in a person's life. However, little is known about age differences in meaningfulness of social interactions across adulthood. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, as people age, they develop relatively stronger preferences for social relationships that are emotionally meaningful. Consequently, older adults may perceive social interactions in everyday life as more meaningful than younger adults. To test this hypothesis, the present study examined age-related differences in the perceived meaningfulness of daily social interactions using experience sampling data. Three-hundred six participants (56.9% women, 18-88 years) completed a total of 6,407 entries over 3 days. Results of the multilevel analyses showed that age was positively associated with perceived meaningfulness of daily social interactions, controlling for relationship closeness and situation valence. In addition, the perceived meaningfulness of daily social interactions was positively related to subjective well-being both between and within all participants, indicating that meaningful social interactions are beneficial for well-being regardless of age. Thus, perceiving social interactions as meaningful could be one way that older people maintain a high level of well-being in their daily lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The social grounds of personal self: Interactions that build a sense of ‘we’ help clarify who ‘I’ am

AbstractMany lay people believe that the best way to develop a clear sense of ‘who you are’ is to shut yourself off from others and engage in introspection. Increasingly, however, empirical evidence points to the social aspects of identities and identity development. Building on this, we argue that a strong sense of personal identity is more likely to be derived from meaningful social interaction. More specifically, we argue that when communication allows people to develop a sense of shared identity, it can also promote a sense of personal self. Consistent with this hypothesis, evidence from three experiments indicates that social interaction indirectly enhances people's self‐concept clarity and personal identity strength, through an increased experience of shared identity and social validation. This suggests that a sense of ‘me’ is not formed independently of others but also through the experience of ‘we’ in interaction.

Digital Competence to Bridge Transactional Distance in Distance Education

Utilising primary data and a stratified random sampling method, this study explores the proficiency of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) students in navigating digital resources and their intrinsic motivation for academic growth. Data collected from 390 IGNOU students, via stratified random sampling, includes undergraduates enrolled from 2016 to 2021 and postgraduates from 2018 to 2021. The study emphasies the crucial importance of fostering an interactive and engaging learning environment for the development of affective skills, countering transactional distance. It underscores the pivotal role of ICT in bridging gaps and promoting meaningful social interactions in distance education programs, thus enhancing holistic growth and employability.

"We were the best people to do the job": Caregivers' reported outcomes of a virtual caregiver-delivered program for autistic preschoolers.

Caregiver-delivered programs are a recommended best practice to support young autistic children. While research has extensively explored children's outcomes quantitatively, minimal qualitative research has been conducted to understand caregivers' perspectives of program outcomes for themselves and their children. Hearing directly from caregivers is an important step in ensuring these programs are meeting the needs of those who use them. This study explored caregivers' perceived outcomes following one virtual caregiver-delivered program, The Hanen Centre's More Than Words® (MTW) program. This study was a secondary analysis of data from individual interviews conducted with 21 caregivers who had recently participated in a virtual MTW program. A hybrid codebook thematic analysis approach was taken to analyze the interview data. Program outcomes were coded and analyzed within the International Classification Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework. Additionally, caregivers completed an online survey and rated Likert Scale items about perceived program outcomes, which were analyzed descriptively. Five themes were identified: (1) caregivers learned new strategies to facilitate their child's development, (2) caregivers developed a new mindset, (3) children gained functional communication skills, (4) caregiver-child relationships improved, and (5) caregivers gained a social and professional support network. These themes fell within four of five ICF framework components (activities, participation, personal factors, and environmental factors). No themes were identified under Body Structures and Functions. Survey results indicated most caregivers reported learning new communication strategies (n = 20, 95%), and identifying new teaching opportunities with their child (n = 21, 100%). Some reported outcomes, related to Activities and Participation, were consistent with previous reports in the literature on the MTW program. In line with previous research, caregivers learned strategies to support their child's communication development. Contrary to previous quantitative studies, caregivers in this study rarely commented on gains in vocabulary and instead focused on gains in skills that positively impacted their child's ability to engage in meaningful social interaction. Novel outcomes were identified within the Participation, Personal Factors, and Environmental Factors components of the ICF framework. Caregivers in this study identified important outcomes for themselves and their child that have not been the focus of prior research, suggesting it is important to integrate their perspectives in the development and evaluation of caregiver-delivered programs. Clinicians should include goals that address outcomes identified as important by caregivers, including those that address children's Participation, and those that target caregivers' Personal and Environmental Factors. Developers of caregiver-delivered programs could integrate identified goals to ensure they are meeting families' needs.

Socially connected while apart: the use of technology to increase social connection between nursing home residents and their relatives.

This study examines whether the use of a communication technology can enhance social connectedness among nursing home residents in Norway. The concept of social connectedness suggest that positive and significant interpersonal relationships can help reduce the risk of loneliness and social isolation among older adults and can be beneficial for both their health and overall well-being. In recent years, technology has been increasingly utilized as a method to overcome physical distances and to keep families connected. Although the use of digital solutions among older people has increased in recent years, few studies have addressed the use and impact of such technologies within a nursing home context. A total of 225 residents participated in the study, making it one of the few quantitative studies that examine the use of communication technologies in nursing homes at such a large scale. The study combines two sources of data: (1) survey data collected over a 14-month period, in three different waves, at all public nursing homes in Oslo municipality and (2) a highly detailed weekly datastream from each Komp-device, which provides an objective measure of the frequency of contact between the residents and their families. The two sources of data were combined and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The regression analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between Komp use and increased social satisfaction among the residents. The results indicate that Komp is a feasible communication tool to help nursing home residents maintain relations with their families. The positive response to Komp among the residents suggests that when designed with the user's needs in mind, technology can indeed facilitate meaningful social interactions, even for those with limited technological experience. Such interventions can thus be crucial in bridging the gap between older residents and the outside world, effectively addressing their unique challenges of social isolation and disconnection from the broader community.

Digital Storytelling Intervention for Enhancing the Social Participation of People With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Co-Design and Usability Study.

Community-based social participation has shown promise in delaying cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are at risk of developing dementia. Although group storytelling interventions have proven effective, the need for a skilled workforce to support people with MCI can limit broader community implementation. Technology-based interventions may offer a solution to this limitation by replicating the abilities of therapists. This study aims to co-design a digital storytelling intervention and evaluate its usability. This co-design process involved 3 stages, engaging people with MCI (n=12), their caregivers (n=4), and therapists (n=5) in Beijing, China. In the first stage, we used card sorting and voting methods to identify potential incentives for social participation and target the specific abilities that people with MCI wanted to enhance. In the second stage, we conducted brainstorming sessions with people with MCI and their caregivers to identify the potential features of a digital storytelling application named Huiyou ("meeting new friends" in Chinese). Finally, we assessed Huiyou's usability with people with MCI and therapists, leading to iterative improvements based on the usability findings. We uncovered a crucial link between boosting the self-confidence of people with MCI and their ability to address social participation challenges. Notably, we identified memory improvement and enhanced language expression as key factors for effective communication with grandchildren. Subsequently, participants suggested features and interfaces to address these challenges, leading to the development of Huiyou, a group-based digital storytelling application featuring functions such as generating story materials, conducting memory retrieval activities, and sharing stories. It received an "excellent" rating in the User Experience Questionnaire benchmark, displaying high levels of attractiveness, dependability, stimulation, and novelty. People with MCI achieved an average task completion rate of 87% (n=19; SD 0.13) of the 22 tasks. However, feedback from people with MCI and therapists highlighted usability issues in navigation, activity management, user interface, and feature optimization, indicating a need for improved accessibility and efficiency. The co-design approach contributed to developing the Huiyou prototype, supporting community-based social participation. User feedback highlighted the potential of Huiyou to enhance well-being and facilitate meaningful social interactions while maintaining crucial existing relationships.

AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN DAILY EXPERIENCES OF HAPPINESS: THE ROLE OF THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE

Abstract We examined the role of future time perspective (thinking about the future) in shaping age-related differences in time-varying experiences of happiness. Older adults’ experience of happiness is more strongly associated with low-arousal than with high-arousal positive affect. Low-arousal positive affective states may be conducive to engaging in meaningful social interactions with close others (e.g., listening, adjusting to others) and therefore serve key socio-emotional goals that are prioritized when future time is perceived as limited. We hypothesized that thinking less about the future would be related to stronger associations between happiness and low-arousal positive states in older than younger adults. We used daily life assessments from 258 participants (M = 48.4 years; 68% female; 77% Asian; 73% post-secondary education), which comprised older (M = 63.4 years) and younger (M = 20.1 years) adult samples collected at two locations (Vancouver, Canada; Hong Kong). Participants reported on their momentary affective states and thinking about the future (0-100 scales) up to 30 times over 10 days. Results replicate previous findings by showing that momentary happiness was more strongly associated with momentary calmness and more weakly associated with momentary excitement among older as compared to younger adults. Younger adults reported thinking more about the future than older adults. Thinking less about the future was related to stronger happiness-calmness and weaker happiness-excitement associations in daily life for older participants, only; for younger participants, it was associated with weaker happiness-calmness associations. Age and future thinking-related contours of happiness are discussed in the context of emotional aging theories.

Docents as transformative educators of travelers

While transformative travel research mainly focuses on visitors' perspectives, those of local volunteers who guide these visitor experiences, such as museum docents, are left unexplored. This gap is worth investigating, considering that meaningful social interactions are identified as one of the main triggers of travelers' transformative experiences. Building on the transformative learning theory, we integrate the concept of emotional intelligence to examine how docents perceive their role as transformative educators to travelers. We apply a qualitative multi-method approach that combines photo elicitations and personal interviews with 31 museum docents. The findings suggest that docents use emotional intelligence to navigate the disorienting dilemma, guide travelers through self-reflection and critical assessment, and cultivate their commitment to education.

Exploring why "memory loss" is a misleading descriptor of people living with dementia and can lead to dysfunctional care.

Amidst goals for prevention and improved treatment for people living with dementia, much remains needed to enhance the quality of life of those currently diagnosed, especially the transfer of accurate information from professionals to the public. Although many healthcare professionals understand the various types of memory and which are likely to be more affected than others during the progression of dementia, lay persons are more frequently unaware of that important information. The terms used to describe the symptoms of dementia can have a great impact on perceptions of faculties that are absent, compromised, or preserved. Understanding the nuances of preserved memory faculties and other cognitive abilities retained by persons with dementia is important in this regard. The term "memory loss" as a descriptor of the syndrome of dementia and ascribing it to persons with dementia connotes an inability to form new memories and participate in meaningful social interactions, which is detrimental to their personhood. From a multidisciplinary approach drawn from neurology, neurobiology, psychology, and case vignettes, we aim herein to highlight the ways in which the term "memory loss" can be inaccurate, counterproductive and potentially promote dementia-related misperceptions, malignant positioning and malignant social psychology. Persons with dementia unequivocally struggle with explicit memory, or recalling on demand, but retain implicit memory, as evidenced by research and everyday actions. Therefore, we propose the use of alternative medical language to reflect accurately memory impairment and preservation of some important memory capabilities.

Hidden, scattered and reconstructed: indigenous lifeways, knowledges and intergenerational learning

ABSTRACT This article is concerned with diverse ways in which indigenous people learn, engage with and construct knowledge in their everyday lives and livelihoods. Drawing on the concepts of lifeways it explores the nature of the shared values, meaningful social interactions and multiple forms of communication – including interactions with human, non-human entities and the spirit world – of indigenous peoples of the Southeast Peruvian Amazon. Indigenous Arakbut knowledges and ways of knowing are the basis of their ‘education system’ and emerge from their history and vision of the world. However, their lifeways and education system have become fragmented, scattered and go unrecognised in the context environmental destruction from gold mining and lack of territorial control. The article draws on indigenous perspectives and ethnographic research to demonstrate the importance of indigenous education systems for the maintenance and continuing transformation of vigorous place-based lifeways attuned to 21st century visions for the future.

Promoting synergies for sustainability through peer-to-peer sharing: an analysis of drivers and barriers

ABSTRACT Peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing may foster sustainability synergistically by saving resources, reducing costs and promoting satisfaction of consumer needs and social connectivity. A survey of Swiss and Swedish consumers (N = 1522) was conducted to analyze drivers and barriers for P2P sharing of household products as taker and/or provider in a complementary way referring to social exchange theory. More than two-thirds (69.1%) of the participants took or provided shared household products during the previous 12 months. The traditional mode of sharing was more prevalent (53.5%) than sharing on online platforms (14.5%). Nearly half of the participants (44.5%) both took and provided shared products, 18.1% exclusively took and 6.5% exclusively provided them, and 30.1% were non-sharers. The traditional mode of sharing involved more reciprocal sharers (66.7%), who both took and provided products, compared to online sharing. Reciprocal sharers were on average younger and had higher income and education levels than non-sharers. Furthermore, their ecological, social, and economic value orientations were stronger, and they rated the benefits of sharing higher than non-sharers. Knowledge about sharing and experience of positive emotions when sharing were consistently positively related to both the number of products taken and provided. To promote the sharing economy, online sharing platforms should enhance consumer’s knowledge and trust through information campaigns and review or insurance systems. Marketing activities should communicate easy access and application of platforms, and the ecological, socio-emotional and economic benefits. A meaningful social interaction between takers and providers should be promoted to promote social connectivity and emotionally positive experiences.

Experiences with social support among older adult women participating in gay square dancing

LGBTQI2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and two-spirit, etc.) individuals face unique challenges to physical activity participation, such as discrimination and exclusion. Square dance is a form of collaborative group dancing and while traditionally a heteronormative form of dance, gay square dance is typically open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. Square dancing offers opportunities to belong to a community of others engaged in the same activity, which older adults often find satisfying. The aim of this research was to understand how older adults who identify as women experience social support in the context of participating in gay square dance and the role previous experiences of social exclusion play in influencing these experiences. Fourteen self-identified women (age range 55–79 years; n = 11 White, n = 1 Black, n = 2 Jewish) belonging to a gay square dance club participated. Participants self-identified as heterosexual (n = 7), lesbian (n = 3), pansexual (n = 1), bisexual (n = 1), or did not identify with existing terminology (n = 2). Interviews were conducted during a gay square-dancing festival and thematically analyzed. Findings highlighted that participants experienced acceptance which affirmed their sense of self and enabled their authentic selves. To foster a sense of belonging and close relationships, specific actions (e.g., demonstrative welcoming of newcomers, mutual support) were taken by other participants in the group. Physical touch is an inherent part of square dancing, which took on different meanings for participants and was overall perceived as safe. Inclusive groups like gay square dance clubs are an important and consistent means where older adult women can experience meaningful social relationships and interactions.

A Qualitative Analysis of Participant Perceptions of a Human-Centered, Co-Designed Diabetes Prevention Program

Background: Youth weight management programs are effective for reducing risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D) but have poor rates of participation. Little research exists regarding program characteristics that promote engagement and health improvements. We evaluated perceptions of a co-designed youth weight management program (PowerHouse).
 Project Methods: We interviewed five mother-child dyads (youth aged 7-18 years) who participated for 6 months in PowerHouse. Youth met criteria for overweight or obesity (BMI ≥85thpercentile) and had two or more additional risk factors for T2D. One interviewer engaged each dyad separately. Each interview transcript was standardized using a predetermined format and words such as uhm and like were eliminated. Transcripts were uploaded into Atlas.ti qualitative analysis software. Emergent thematic coding was performed, and broad themes related to participant expectations, likes, and dislikes were identified.
 Results: The following themes emerged: 1) Parent expectations focused on their children’s actions and behaviors rather than their own. Parents want children to learn to make “good choices now so as they get older, they would potentially be in the situation of not having diabetes”; 2) Participants liked to “learn something new and to try something new” rather learning didactically and shared meaningful social interactions, realizing “a bunch of us are going through the same things”; 3) taking time away from a busy schedule when the whole family is not engaged is hard.
 Potential Impact: This research suggests participants value socially engaging, experiential learning. Parents expect youth will take responsibility for their own health habits, which should be explored more fully in future work. Nonetheless, parental involvement and support is associated with better weight management outcomes in youth; thus, strategies that align parental and youth expectations are needed. Based on these findings, a strategy that includes shared-decision making, managed and aligned expectations, and goal setting with parent-youth dyads could further improve PowerHouse.

Could Robots Empatize? A Review on The Employment of Social Robots in Mental Healthcare

The advances in artificial intelligence and robotics began to transform business and human relations. The employment of robots in health, education, entertainment and rehabilitation as well as industries introduced the concept of "social robots". Although there is no consensus on the definition of the concept, robots with some degree of autonomy and could conduct meaningful social interactions with humans are considered social robots. Studies have been conducted on the employment of social robots in mental health services. Studies have been conducted on the employment of social robots in mental health services. The effectiveness of social robots in the treatment of anxiety, stress, depression, anger, and eating disorders, especially dementia and autism spectrum disorder, has also been investigated. The question of “can robots empathize” is a significant topic in research that focus on human-robot interactions. Robotic empathy studies were conducted with two dimensions of human empathy for robots and robot empathy for humans and led to various philosophical and ethical discussions. Some argued that robot-human interaction leads to new opportunities in mental health services, while others criticized the use of robots since it could increase human solitude, blur the line between reality and virtuality perceptions and the distinction between ontological categories. The present literature review aimed to discuss the concepts of artificial intelligence, robots, and social robots, provide information about the studies on the employment of social robots in mental healthcare, and address the studies and views based on the question "can social robots empathize?"

Robotlar Empati Yapabilir mi? Sosyal Robotların Ruh Sağlığı Hizmetlerinde Kullanımı Üzerine Bir Derleme

The advances in artificial intelligence and robotics began to transform business and human relations. The employment of robots in health, education, entertainment and rehabilitation as well as industries introduced the concept of "social robots". Although there is no consensus on the definition of the concept, robots with some degree of autonomy and could conduct meaningful social interactions with humans are considered social robots. Studies have been conducted on the employment of social robots in mental health services. Studies have been conducted on the employment of social robots in mental health services. The effectiveness of social robots in the treatment of anxiety, stress, depression, anger, and eating disorders, especially dementia and autism spectrum disorder, has also been investigated. The question of “can robots empathize” is a significant topic in research that focus on human-robot interactions. Robotic empathy studies were conducted with two dimensions of human empathy for robots and robot empathy for humans and led to various philosophical and ethical discussions. Some argued that robot-human interaction leads to new opportunities in mental health services, while others criticized the use of robots since it could increase human solitude, blur the line between reality and virtuality perceptions and the distinction between ontological categories. The present literature review aimed to discuss the concepts of artificial intelligence, robots, and social robots, provide information about the studies on the employment of social robots in mental healthcare, and address the studies and views based on the question "can social robots empathize?"

Video game play as a meaningful online social activity – a virtual zone for integrative L2 learning and practice

The video game play provides meaningful social interactions through which the participants’ vocabulary can frequently benefit because it utilizes both implicit and explicit learning occasions. The play carries phrases, necessity of communication and task completion where there is an emerging opportunity of integrative learning. Grammar may be deduced from practicing sentence patterns which thus can be anchored into one’s lexicon. Following the latest research data, we attempt to find an answer to which type of video game presents an effective environment for vocabulary acquisition. In our study, we compared 646 video gamer students from five Hungarian secondary schools who completed a receptive vocabulary levels test. It was proven that the action video games have the most significant effect on the participant’s lexical advancement.

Europeanization by foreign banks: Latvia from 1995 to 2004

ABSTRACT This article investigates the role of the Swedish, Finnish, and German banks during Latvia’s accession into the European Union from 1995 until 2004. It claims that private foreign banks with EU origins used their conditionality and socialization capacities to Europeanize Latvia. In the capital-scarce Latvian economy banks were able to project conditionality and influence the implementation of structural reforms in the legal and political system. Private foreign banks were important also due to their capacity to outcompete the domestic economic actors; they established meaningful social interaction with decision-makers in Latvia, and actively used persuasion and socialization strategies on Latvian institutions.

Human-Likeness of Feedback Gestures Affects Decision Processes and Subjective Trust

Trust is fundamental in building meaningful social interactions. With the advance of social robotics in collaborative settings, trust in Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) is gaining more and more scientific attention. Indeed, understanding how different factors may affect users’ trust toward robots is of utmost importance. In this study, we focused on two factors related to the robot’s behavior that could modulate trust. In a two-forced choice task where a virtual robot reacted to participants’ performance, we manipulated the human-likeness of the robot’s motion and the valence of the feedback it provided. To measure participant’s subjective level of trust, we used subjective ratings throughout the task as well as a post-task questionnaire, which distinguishes capacity and moral dimensions of trust. We expected the presence of feedback to improve trust toward the robot and human-likeness to strengthen this effect. Interestingly, we observed that humans equally trust the robot in most conditions but distrust it when it shows no social feedback nor human-like behavior. In addition, we only observed a positive correlation between subjective trust ratings and the moral and capacity dimensions of trust when robot was providing feedback during the task. These findings suggest that the presence and human-likeness of feedback behaviors positively modulate trust in HRI and thereby provide important insights for the development of non-verbal communicative behaviors in social robots.

인공지능자동화의 전면화 국면에서 일과 사회1) : 창의성의 문제

Creativity begins to establish itself as human nature at the dawn of modern society.
 However, the current creativity discourse in the era of automation is centered on the situation in which machines threaten humans. Regarding this situation, this study deals with the problem of creativity discourse, which claims that we can only survive when we are creative. The process begins by examining how creativity, as a latent ability, emerged as a universal human possibility in modern society, but how it was blocked.
 All the tools and inventions that mankind has created in the long history of life supplement the vulnerable human beings. However, in the era of artificial intelligence automation, paradoxical claims are being made that machines are humanizing. So, in the era of automation, we look at how what those who advocate for creativity are doing is creating the result of grading people. The key is that creativity is what a good job that will survive in the age of automation requires. However, such a claim threatens to block the opportunities for creativity that every individual should enjoy. Creativity studies by psychologists track the environmental and psychological characteristics of creative people. Recognize the importance of the social and cultural environment.
 However, they do not pay attention to the structural problem of historical society that this study focuses on. It also examines the concreteness of practice, which progressive automation theorists’ expectations for labor emancipation and the utopian vision of a society where universal human creativity can be exercised are lacking. This study focuses on the local as a possibility to overcome these limitations. An important factor in the centripetal force of the Capital metropolitan area in Korean society is employment opportunities. The creativity required by the labor market is the ability to be employed. So it does not require the ability to express creativity to achieve true individuation. Moreover, human creative thinking is possible through meaningful social interaction. However, it does not happen in abstract groups such as nations and countries. Concrete and practical interactions are possible within meaningful human relationships created in the local, which is the basic living ecosystem in which individuals live. Therefore, this study pays attention to the emergence of local creators, which are visibly active in Korean society since early 2010s. Specifically, it argues that the movement of a new generation to realize their own uniqueness in the local community where life takes place is an important practice case of creative freedom to realize the uniqueness of ‘I’.

Pandemic Diaries: Lived Experiences of Loneliness, Loss, and Hope Among Older Adults During COVID-19.

Background and ObjectivesWhile research on loneliness in later life has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, we still lack diverse qualitative approaches capturing lived experiences of lonely older adults. Approaches to research with older adults instead of on them are also scant in gerontological literature on loneliness. Through solicited diaries, this study aimed to explore how older Australians who were already lonely before the pandemic managed lockdowns (stay-at-home orders) in Victoria, Australia, which lived through one of the longest lockdowns in the world.Research Design and MethodsThis article is based on qualitative diaries completed by 32 older adults (aged 65+). Diaries provide a ‘live’ document where participants become active research partners, recording and sharing their perceptions and experiences. This method is useful to capture sensitive issues, but to our knowledge has not been employed in loneliness studies. Data were thematically analyzed through identification of themes within and across diaries.ResultsLoneliness was defined by participants as a detrimental absence of companionship and meaningful social interactions. For most, lockdowns exacerbated loneliness, presented new triggers, and upended coping strategies. The disruption of the ‘emotion work’ involved with managing loneliness led to a reconfiguration of response strategies, including through digital technology, which brought both challenges (e.g., digital ageism) and opportunities (e.g., novel communication forms).Discussion and ImplicationsUnderstanding how older people living alone define and respond to loneliness in diverse contexts – for example, before and during a pandemic that restricted social interaction – provides critical insights to inform interventions to tackle loneliness.