COVID-19 is proving to be a particularly cruel disease not just because
of its pathophysiology but also due to its potentially devastating
consequences for engendering loneliness. From the outset of the
pandemic, we have learned of countless individuals having to die alone
or loved ones not being able to grieve by providing burial services (Miller, 2020).
This disease holds particularly dire consequences for many
populations—most notably the elderly and those with compromised health
conditions but also minorities and the homeless; these groups have also
faced unique difficulties in contending with loneliness well before this
crisis (Rokach, 2019).
For as much attention that this disease has rightfully focused on the
elderly, individuals can experience different developmental challenges
with loneliness throughout the lifespan including adolescence and young
adulthood (Luhmann and Hawkley, 2016)—and,
indeed, there is already evidence of heightened psychological problems
amongst Chinese youth in the wake of this pandemic (Liang et al., 2020).
Accordingly, it will be important for psychologists to assess how
age-based threats to loneliness evolve in the era of COVID-19.