# Many Ways to Be Lonely: Fine-Grained Characterization of Loneliness and Its Potential Changes in COVID-19

**Authors:** Yueyi Jiang, Yunfan Jiang, Liu Leqi, Piotr Winkielman  
**arXiv:** [2201.07423](https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.07423)  
**Date:** 2022-01-19  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2201.07423v5/

## Key points

- Loneliness has negative outcomes for physical and mental health
- Understanding how people express and cope with different forms of loneliness is crucial
- FIG-Loneliness dataset was built using Reddit posts from diverse age groups and annotated by trained human annotators for binary and fine-grained classifications of loneliness categories
- Two BERT-based models were developed to examine how different forms of loneliness and coping strategies manifest in online discourse
- Young adult-focused forums expressed concerns about peer relationships and geographical isolation caused by COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, with family and peer-related loneliness appearing more prevalent in this group
- Individuals experiencing loneliness tend to use first-person pronouns, references to words indicating thinking and reasoning, as well as language related to negative emotions and sadness
- Those in young adult-focused forums were more likely to mention words related to peers in their discourse about loneliness, suggesting that peer support is especially critical in promoting psychological well-being among this group
- Individuals with different forms of loneliness have different interaction styles; those with transient loneliness are more likely to seek social connections whereas those with enduring loneliness are more likely to seek advice or validation from communities. Physical and romantic loneliness are also associated with requests for advice, while somatic loneliness is associated with validation seeking.
- Most posts used emotion-focused or passive coping approaches without any explicit intent for social interactions.
- Future research efforts should focus on developing methods to help individuals adopt active coping strategies to alleviate feelings of loneliness, especially those with enduring loneliness who bear more negative consequences from loneliness.
- The FIG-Loneliness dataset and models developed provide valuable insights into how different forms of loneliness manifest in online discourse and the coping strategies used by individuals experiencing it.
- These findings can inform early screening and targeted interventions to reduce loneliness, particularly among vulnerable groups such as young adults.

## Summary

Loneliness has been linked to negative outcomes for both physical and mental health, making it crucial to understand how people express and cope with different forms of loneliness. To aid in early screening and targeted interventions, a dataset called FIG-Loneliness (Fine-Grained Loneliness) was built using Reddit posts from two young adult-focused forums and two loneliness-related forums consisting of a diverse age group. The dataset was annotated by trained human annotators for binary and fine-grained classifications of loneliness categories. Using the FIG-Loneliness dataset, two BERT-based models were developed to examine how different forms of loneliness and coping strategies manifest in online discourse. The binary classification model achieved an accuracy above 97%, while the fine-grained category classification model reached an average accuracy of 77% across all labeled categories. The study found that loneliness expressions in young adult-focused forums were distinct from other forums, with young adults more likely to express concerns about peer relationships and potentially more sensitive to geographical isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Family and peer-related loneliness also appeared more prevalent in the young adult group. Consistent with prior literature, individuals experiencing loneliness tend to use first-person pronouns, references to words indicating thinking and reasoning, as well as language related to negative emotions and sadness. Those in young adult-focused forums were more likely to mention words related to peers in their discourse about loneliness, suggesting that peer support is especially critical in promoting psychological well-being among this group. Individuals with different forms of loneliness have different interaction styles; those with transient loneliness are more likely to seek social connections whereas those with enduring loneliness are more likely to seek advice or validation from communities. Physical and romantic loneliness are also associated with requests for advice, while somatic loneliness is associated with validation seeking. Although problem-focused coping strategies such as explicit requests for social interactions are associated with active coping strategies, most posts used emotion-focused or passive coping approaches without any explicit intent for social interactions. Future research efforts should focus on developing methods to help individuals adopt active coping strategies to alleviate feelings of loneliness, especially those with enduring loneliness who bear more negative consequences from loneliness and have a relatively greater use of passive coping strategies. Overall, the FIG-Loneliness dataset and models developed in this study provide valuable insights into how different forms of loneliness manifest in online discourse and the coping strategies used by individuals experiencing loneliness. These findings can inform early screening and targeted interventions to reduce loneliness, particularly among vulnerable groups such as young adults.