32 | New Scientist | 15 August 2020

A

T THE beginning of the UK lockdown,

I woke each morning with a feeling of

impending doom. I was scared about

covid-19, of course, but also worried about

isolation. How would I cope without seeing

friends and family? How could I perform my

job as a journalist if I couldn’t meet people?

These weren’t baseless fears. In recent

decades, a raft of research has shown that

individuals with richer social worlds tend

to have better mental well-being and lower

stress, and to perform better at work. Missing

out on our interactions with friends,

colleagues and even shopkeepers can have a

surprisingly powerful impact on our health.

WhatsApp conversations and Zoom

“parties” have helped me to maintain a sense

of connection, but these tools can’t replace

aspects of interaction – like social touches and

impromptu chats by the water cooler – that

can boost mood and strengthen relationships.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella suggested as

much in a recent interview with The New York

Times. Although he felt the shift to digital

interactions was going relatively smoothly,

TOhe wondered if we were burning through the

M^ P

EA

KE

Features Cover story

Missed

connections

The coronavirus pandemic may be dismantling

your social network without you realising.

David Robson investigates how to fight back