The trends and consequences of social isolation—along with the parallel concept of loneliness—have been debated and analysed in a lively manner during the last few decades. For example, studies from the United States have reported major declines in interpersonal and community networks (Putnam 2000). In 2006, McPherson and colleagues published a paper in the American Sociological Review analysing 20 years of social network data collected using the General Social Survey (GSS) and showed that from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, the average size of Americans’ conversational network shrunk by a third. In addition, the number of people who reported having nobody to talk to tripled. The critics raised some methodological issues (Paik and Sanchagrin 2013) and contradictory evidence (Hampton et al. 2009, 2011).

More recently, nationally representative surveys of US adolescents 1976–2017, showed that compared to previous generations, adolescents in the 2010s spent less time on in-person (face-to-face) social interaction with peers. In 2016, college-bound high school seniors (vs. the late 1980s) spent an hour less a day engaging in in-person social interaction (Twenge et al. 2019). Surveys indicated that adolescents’ feelings of loneliness increased sharply after 2011. Adolescents with low in-person social interaction and those with extensive use of social media reported the most loneliness. Another related study (Twenge et al. 2018) focused on adolescents’ psychological well-being and showed that those who spent more time on electronic communication and screens and less time on non-screen activities, for example in-person social interaction, had lower psychological well-being.

Some studies have used time use data to estimate trends in social isolation. Turcotte’s (2007) study analysed the four waves of the Canadian GSS on time use. He found that between 1986 and 2005 the time that Canadian workers spent alone increased by 40 min per day. Another study looking at the entire Canadian population aged 15 or older showed a 1.5-h increase in time spent alone between 1986 and 1998 (Clark 2002).

Many social, political and economic indicators from the industrialized countries point towards the trend of atomization and privatization of modern life. The trend has occurred in both the public domain and within homes (Williams 2006). Researchers (e.g. DiMaggio et al. 2001) consider the change in social relations along the continuum of social specialization that started from the industrialization and urbanization of modern society (Durkheim 1893/1984). Social ties detach from the bounded local networks of close family and kin (mechanical solidarity) and reorganize into more specialized and voluntary-based social ties (organic solidarity). Sociologists have tied social isolation to the capitalistic mass society, and modern city, with its atomized social relationships. Thus, social isolation may be regarded as a malaise of modernity and of urban life (Parigi and Henson 2014). Putnam’s (2000) major concern, in his seminal book Bowling Alone, was how the changes in social networks affect social capital, the benefits that human beings gain from being part of communities. According to his view, a by-product of run-down social networks is the weakening of trust relations among citizens.

In parallel, digital technologies open up new social media and reformulate social interaction (DiMaggio et al. 2001; Stern 2008; Hampton et al. 2011), perhaps reducing the need for, or possibility of, face-to-face connections. A recent study comparing the daily time use of Swedish young adults (20–29 years old) since 1990s showed a considerable increase in ICT use and at the same time period (1990–2011) a consistent decline in offline social activities such as visiting and meeting at home or in public spaces. Young adults performed more free-time activities alone (Vilhelmson et al. 2018). Another time use study compared young (15–24 years old) heavy, medium, and light digital media users and their time use patters. The results indicated that heavy ICT users spend more time performing offline activities alone, and spend more time at home. Researchers concluded that heavy use of ICTs reflected spatially and socially introverted and home-centred ways of living (Thulin and Vilhelmson 2019).

The beneficial effects of shared social time are widely acknowledged in the literature. Time spent with others strengthens social relationships, provides opportunities to support and is generally enjoyable. The presence of social networks facilitates coping with adverse events, for example dealing with existing health issues (Cohen 2004). Social isolation is associated with the scarcity of social contact and related health resources (absence of practical support). Consequently, social isolation has been associated with serious detrimental effects on health (Cornwell and Waite 2009; Coyle and Dugan 2012; Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015). In addition, close social relationships, such as marriages, are dependent on the degree of their nearness, that is, on the degree to which social relationships occur in face-to-face situations (Berger and Kellner 1964; Kingston and Nock 1987). Maintaining a fulfilling family life also entails family members spending time together ‘face to face’ (Strazdins et al. 2004).

In this study we employ Finnish Time Use Surveys (FTUS) from three decades to examine the phenomenon of social isolation, measured as time spent alone, along with societal changes, focusing on demographical changes and new technologies. We use the information the FTUS gathers on with whom the respondent was over the course of each day, to calculate trends in time spent alone. We will also identify groups at risk of social isolation.

We suggest, firstly, that the risks of social isolation—in the form of time spent alone—are connected with living alone, changes in marital and childbearing patterns and the age structure of society. Secondly, we assume that the changing social forms in using new (and old) technologies affect time use.

Time Spent Alone

Social isolation is typically defined by small social networks, infrequent social contacts, an absence of confidante connections, living alone and a lack of participation in social activities (Cornwell and Waite 2009; Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015). Social isolation is characterized by the opportunities and restrictions related to the living environment. While sometimes public discussion, media and even scientific scholars refer to social isolation and loneliness as interchangeable concepts, it is important to distinguish between them. Social isolation refers to an objective situation where a person does not have any, or only a few, people to interact with, and it can be measured with objective measures (e.g. Wenger et al. 1996), while loneliness is a subjective experience or a feeling of distress stemming from being without the type of relationships one desires (e.g. Weiss 1973). Several studies have established that there is only a low correlation (r = 0.10–0.25) between loneliness and social isolation (Cornwell and Waite 2009; Coyle and Dugan 2012; Tanskanen and Anttila 2016; Steptoe et al. 2013).

In time use survey data, being alone refers to situations where a respondent is not in the same room or space as a person he/she knows, such as a family member or a friend. This definition of being alone does not exclude the presence of unknown others such as other passengers on a bus (Roeters et al. 2014). This kind of time spent alone can have both positive and negative perceptions and impacts on individuals. It helps individuals to unwind and recharge and provides more autonomy, but on the other hand, solitude limits individual access to social resources and support, and—if not voluntary—can raise the feelings of loneliness (Long and Averill 2003; Roeters et al. 2014). Time alone cannot be judged as a purely good or bad phenomenon. For example, people may seek solitude from home as it enables them to be free of social judgement and thus to relax. Sometimes, however, time alone can be felt as being more negative, especially if it is unwanted. For example, in public places like cafes there are stronger expectations of social interaction and therefore being alone in the crowd can be felt as being more negative (Lay et al. 2018).

Disconnecting Tendencies of Social Relationships

The risk of social isolation is associated with growing social differentiation between social groups. Elevated risks are identified in particular among young and elderly people (Larson 1990), and the less well educated (e.g. McPherson et al. 2006; Klinenberg 2016; Tanskanen and Anttila 2016). In addition, the increase of single households may lead to increasing time spent alone, since there is no partner with whom to share the spare time. Living alone has increased, especially among elderly people and the male workforce. In 2016, 42.6% of Finnish households were single households. Living alone is most common among groups under the age of 30 and over the age of 60 (Kähäri et al. 2017). In previous studies the increase of single households was found to be the main reason why solitary eating in Belgium increased between 1966 and 1999 (Mestdag and Glorieux 2009).

While the number of unmarried people has increased, the marriage rates and the number of children per household have decreased. Yet there is a growing number of older people who don’t have spouses or children (Miettinen et al. 2015). For elderly people, having a low income and living alone are also risk factors for experiencing loneliness (Savikko et al. 2005). In addition, it has been suggested that men are at greater risk of social isolation (Stringhini et al. 2012). Men are usually more oriented toward activities outside the family than women, and are less adept at making friends; men are also found to be less able to sustain ties with family members, including children (Klinenberg 2012).

While work is a central source of social relations, missing a job is associated with a loss of social relationships (Jahoda 1982). Larson (1990) has shown that adults who have higher-status jobs spend less time alone than adults in semi-skilled jobs, who spend more time alone at home, at work and in the public domain than people in more skilled jobs. This may partly be due to their higher education, since individuals with higher education tend to consume culture such as theatre more often and participate more frequently in voluntary activities (Pääkkönen 2006; Wilson 2000; Van de Werfhorst and Kraaykamp 2001). Thus having a higher occupational status seems to ensure a wider social network and more active leisure.

New technologies are considered to be the main factor in the change of social relations and in creating new networks (Castells 1996; Parigi and Henson 2014). Previously, television has been accused of being antisocial and isolating (e.g. Putnam 2000). The critical view emphasizes that watching television is, however, an activity that is intimately connected with the social life of households (Brown and Barkhuus 2011) and remains a highly relevant leisure pursuit (Hamill 2011). More lately the issue of the effects of Internet use on interpersonal connectivity has generated a great deal of debate among researchers. Earlier empirical studies have shown conflicting results. Some studies have suggested that detrimental use of the Internet, especially in terms of face-to-face social interaction (Sanders et al. 2000; Stern 2008; Sigman 2009), leads to social isolation, or to poorer social skills (Maczewski 2002). It has been suggested that the Internet reduces participation, especially in those activities that are important for obtaining social capital. Other studies indicate that computer-mediated communications complement other modes of communication (Hampton 2016). Indeed, new technology has evidently extended possibilities for social connections. The ‘depth’ of these connections is a more controversial issue. Turkle’s (2017, 280) expression ‘alone together’ indicates that technology has enhanced connectivity, but we rarely gain others’ full attention through these connections.

There are plenty of studies on technology and social isolation within different social groups. The biggest digital divides are identified among young and elderly people in the use of, and access to, new technologies and social networks. For young people, social media has emerged as an important means of communication that adds new types of social communication and affects young people’s lives by changing the physical proximity to both family and peers (Thulin and Vilhelmson 2007).

Along with technological change, we may also find architectural trends that change physical proximity—and time spent in face-to-face contact. Williams (2006) suggests that within homes, families can be ever more internally separated from each other if these homes are ever larger and media entertainment stations can be found increasingly in the private spaces of individual family members rather than in common spaces. Thus, enlargement of the physical space in homes is one potential source of increased time spent alone.