Pandemic consequences: Lonesome due to Corona | tagesschau.de


Status: 07/26/2021 5:33 p.m.

According to a study by the EU Commission, the feeling of loneliness increased during the corona pandemic, especially among young adults. The feeling of loneliness especially increased among singles.

During the Corona crisis, the frequency of feelings of loneliness among EU citizens doubled. That goes from a Study by the scientific service of the EU Commission emerged. Accordingly, around twelve percent of EU citizens said in 2016 that they feel lonely more than half the time. This proportion rose to 25 percent in the first few months of the pandemic.

According to the study, there were different developments in feelings of loneliness, both in the age groups and in European regions. While older people were mostly suffering from loneliness before the pandemic, the proportion of 18 to 25-year-olds who said they felt lonely for a long time quadrupled to 36 percent between April and July 2020.

Significant increase in Germany

Even among singles, the feeling of loneliness rose by 26 percentage points during curfews. For people with partners or children, the value only increased by nine percentage points.

Compared to other countries, loneliness grew especially in Northern Europe: In countries such as Norway and Sweden, around six percent of the population said in 2016 that they feel lonely more than half the time, in Southern Europe 13 percent. In the first months of the pandemic, the values ​​rose to 22 to 26 percent across Europe. In Germany the share rose from 8.8 to 24.5 percent.

On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the gender comparison or between urban and rural areas. The research also found that wealth and health protect against loneliness.

Commission vice demands countermeasures

The Vice President of the EU Commission, Dubravka Suica, called for countermeasures in view of the results. Scientific findings suggested that loneliness could weaken social cohesion and trust in the community, but also economic performance, said the EU commissioner responsible for democracy and demography.

For the study, the researchers evaluated interviews and existing data. However, the surveys in 2016 and 2020 were carried out differently. This limits their comparability. In 2020, the respondents answered questions online of their own accord. Older participants in an online survey in particular are presumably more connected to social media than other people – and therefore less lonely than the average.



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