Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
August 24, 2026
Summary:
Objective: This study examines the relationship between remote work frequency and loneliness and assesses the differential moderating effects of active (e.g., posting content) versus passive (e.g., scrolling or browsing content) social media use.
Methods: Using data from Waves 13 and 14 (2021–2024) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), comprising 7,601 individuals and 15,202 person-wave observations, this study employs fixed-effects regression models.
Results: The findings reveal that higher remote work frequency is positively associated with greater loneliness (β = 0.059, 95% confidence interval [0.018, 0.100]). Furthermore, active social media use significantly buffers this positive association (β = −0.016, 95% confidence interval [−0.031, −0.001]), whereas passive social media use shows no significant moderating effect (β = −0.003, 95% confidence interval [−0.022, 0.015]).
Conclusion: Greater remote work frequency is associated with increased loneliness, but active social media use attenuates this association while passive use does not. As remote work becomes more prevalent, active rather than passive social media engagement may help offset the loneliness associated with this work arrangement.
Published in
Frontiers in Psychology
Volume
Volume: 17:1930871
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1930871
ISSN
16641078
Subjects
Notes
© 2026 Chen, Wang and Yan.
Open Access
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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