Love and Loneliness – a growing pandemic?

Lockdown – four months ago, most of the globe hadn’t heard of the phrase and life went on as normal – however, most of the world is now in full lockdown or just starting to come out of it – it’s worth looking at how this pandemic has affected our mental health and the part technology has played in keeping us all connected.

There is a growing concern that whilst lockdown persists, those stuck indoors with little-to-no social interaction with friends and family start to suffer.  In fact, new research from Kaspersky shows that actually, the issue of loneliness hasn’t sprung from nowhere – 41% of Europeans surveyed were already lonely, even before lockdown started.

The Covid-19 pandemic has given loneliness a voice, with many Europeans struggling under lockdown, but will easing of restrictions ease feelings of loneliness?

Another surprise is that, despite their natural flair for all things technological, Gen-Z actually fared the worst with nearly 70% admitting to feeling lonely during lockdown, compared to just 37% of the baby-boomer generation.

A concerning growth in loneliness

So what can people do to help themselves and their loved ones stay connected?  Technology is still key – in fact, we are lucky to live in a time when prolific communications technology is free and readily available.  But it’s more important than ever as we rapidly adopt these technologies that we consider our security and using them safely. We have some great tips on how stay secure when apart and how to keep your devices clean.