Summary: A University of York study found that loneliness and social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic produced widespread confusion about time and disrupted social orientation. Surveying 3,306 respondents in France during a period of strict lockdown and curfew, researchers uncovered a strong association between social isolation and what they describe as “temporal disorientation,” with young people under 25 most strongly affected.
The research highlights a phenomenon the authors call “temporal rupture,” a felt division between life before and after the pandemic that fractured people’s sense of continuity, blurred memories, and made it difficult to place events in time. Many participants reported losing track of the day of the week, experiencing a collapse of routine, and feeling unsure how to act in social situations after prolonged isolation.
Key findings
- Pandemic-related loneliness and isolation were associated with distortions in time perception and difficulties with social interaction.
- The youngest adults, especially those under 25, reported the highest levels of disorientation.
- The study frames these effects as a “temporal rupture” — a psychological split between pre-pandemic and pandemic time that undermined continuity across past, present, and future.
Source: University of York
Researchers at the University of York designed a quantitative questionnaire to measure both temporal and social disorientation and administered it to 3,306 participants in France during an acute phase of restrictions. The survey included nearly 60 questions probing how lockdowns, curfews, and reduced social contact affected respondents’ perception of time, social roles, and future expectations.
Responses showed that many people experienced a dual disruption: social disorientation — a sense of awkwardness, uncertainty, or unfamiliarity in social situations — and temporal disorientation, which included a blurring of sequences of events, difficulty recalling when events occurred, and losing track of days. Beyond immediate memory lapses, participants also described trouble imagining the future, increased anxiety, and diminished feelings of control over what lay ahead.
The analysis found a strong relationship between social isolation and temporal disruption. People who reported greater disconnection from others were significantly more likely to report disturbances in their sense of time. The research team’s statistical models indicate that social isolation plausibly contributed to changes in temporal experience, suggesting a causal pathway in which reduced social interaction alters how people perceive and organize time.
Lead author Dr. Pablo Fernandez Velasco, a British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the University of York, emphasized the practical implications: social isolation appears to distort temporal experience, leaving people feeling lost across past, present, and future. He notes that loneliness is already widespread in many societies and that the pandemic amplified its effects, underlining the need for public policy to consider how social disconnection compounds psychological harm during crises and in everyday life.
Young adults under 25 emerged as the most affected demographic. For many in this group, the abrupt interruption of social routines, education, and early career experiences intensified feelings of rupture and disorientation. The authors argue that the pandemic created a sense of a fault line in personal timelines — a “temporal rupture” that separated life into distinct before-and-after segments, making it harder for people to integrate experiences across time.
Participant testimonies collected in the study offer qualitative depth to the quantitative findings, illustrating how loneliness and disrupted social rhythms translated into altered day-to-day perception: routines dissolved, event ordering became unclear, and planning the future felt more uncertain. Together, these findings broaden our understanding of how social factors shape time perception and reinforce the importance of addressing isolation in both emergency responses and long-term public health strategies.
About this time perception and loneliness research news
Author: Shelley Hughes
Source: University of York
Contact: Shelley Hughes, University of York
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access. Title: “Social and temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of 3306 responses to a quantitative questionnaire” by Pablo Fernandez Velasco et al., published in the British Journal of Psychology. The study documents how social disconnection during pandemic restrictions contributed to temporal disruption and discusses implications for public policy and mental health support.
Abstract
Social and temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of 3306 responses to a quantitative questionnaire
The Covid-19 pandemic brought widespread mitigation measures such as lockdowns and curfews, imposing spatial, social, and temporal constraints on everyday life. This study examines the cognitive and psychological impacts of those constraints, focusing on how social isolation influenced the experience of time. Although many accounts describe pandemic time as slowed and elongated, variations across social and national contexts point to additional causal factors. Using a quantitative questionnaire developed to measure temporal and social disorientation, the authors analyzed 3,306 responses collected during an acute phase of restrictions in France. Results indicate that social disorientation substantially contributed to the temporal disruptions people experienced during the crisis. The findings underscore the importance of addressing loneliness and social isolation as part of crisis management and public mental health planning.