Social Isolation
The term for the objective state in which an individual has minimal social contacts, lacks engagement with others, and lacks fulfilling relationships.
What is social isolation?
Commonly known as the "stress hormone," this hormone increases in response to social isolation.
What is cortisol?
When students receive negative or critical comments on social media, they may experience this harmful psychological effect, which can amplify loneliness and discourage social participation.
What is cyberbullying?
This substance, heavily associated with university party culture, is frequently used by students as a coping mechanism.
What is alcohol?
Two factors that contribute to social isolation among university students.
What are transitioning to university/academic workload/cultural and language barriers?
Social isolation increases sensitivity to these negative social experiences, making interactions more difficult.
What are social threats and rejection?
Spending excessive time scrolling through social media can result in this common consequence, leaving students feeling disconnected and mentally drained.
What is feeling mentally drained and disconnected from surroundings?
According to Elias et al. (2019), this staggering percentage of Canadian university students reported using non-prescribed drugs to cope with stress.
What is 83%?
The percentage of university students reported experiencing loneliness according to the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey.
What is 31%?
This neurodegenerative disease, the most common form of dementia, is linked to weakened neural connections caused by social isolation.
What is Alzheimer's disease?
When students carefully curate their online personas to showcase only the most positive aspects of their lives, they may experience this disconnect from their true selves.
What is identity masking?
A university student skipping classes, showing mood swings, and frequently smelling of cannabis may be exhibiting early signs of this.
What is substance misuse or early dependency?
The percentage of international students who experience social isolation as compared to the percentage of domestic students.
What is 9.5% for international students and 6.7% for domestic students?
Social isolation can trigger the body's stress response, mimicking this type of immediate physical threat and leading to increased inflammation and cardiovascular risks.
What is physical danger?
According to a 2017 study in Computers in Human Behavior, this percentage of young adults reported feeling more socially isolated due to increased social media use.
What is 30%?
In They Said This Would Be Fun, Eternity Martis described drinking 8–13 drinks a night as a way to cope with these two emotional struggles.
What are loneliness and a lack of belonging?