Social Isolation, Digital Connection: COVID-19's Impact on Twitter Ego Networks

TL;DR

This study analyzes how COVID-19 lockdowns affected Twitter ego networks, revealing increased size and intimacy during lockdown that reverted afterward, highlighting the pandemic's impact on online social structures.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale longitudinal analysis of Twitter ego networks during COVID-19, showing dynamic structural changes linked to lockdown measures.

Findings

Network sizes increased during lockdown

Social relationships became more intimate during lockdown

Network features reverted post-lockdown

Abstract

One of the most impactful measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in its early first years was the lockdown, implemented by governments to reduce physical contact among people and minimize opportunities for the virus to spread. As people were compelled to limit their physical interactions and stay at home, they turned to online social platforms to alleviate feelings of loneliness. Ego networks represent how people organize their relationships due to human cognitive constraints that impose limits on meaningful interactions among people. Physical contacts were disrupted during the lockdown, causing socialization to shift entirely online, leading to a shift in socialization into online platforms. Our research aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown measures on online ego network structures potentially caused by the increase of cognitive expenses in online social networks. In particular, we examined a large Twitter dataset of users, covering 7 years of their activities. We found that during the lockdown, there was an increase in network sizes and a richer structure in social circles, with relationships becoming more intimate. Moreover, we observe that, after the lockdown measures were relaxed, these features returned to their pre-lockdown values.