Teen isolation linked to increased reward-seeking, study finds

A study lead-authored by Dr Livia Tomova, lecturer at Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, has found that teenagers become more motivated to seek rewards after just a few hours of social isolation.

Published in Communications Psychology, the research shows that even short periods of loneliness can quickly influence adolescent behaviour. While isolation may encourage teens to seek social reconnection, it could also lead them to pursue less healthy rewards like alcohol or drugs.

The University of Cambridge-led study involved 40 teenagers aged 16 to 19. All had good social connections, no history of mental health issues, and average levels of loneliness for their age. After completing baseline tasks, participants spent three to four hours alone on two separate days—one with no social contact, and one with access to virtual interaction through their phone or laptop.

When given access to devices, nearly half spent most of their time messaging friends on platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp. After isolation, participants were more motivated to engage with images of positive social interaction and to play games offering monetary rewards. While those with access to social media felt less bored and lonely, they still experienced the same drop in positive mood as those without access.

“Our study demonstrates just how sensitive young people are to very short periods of isolation,” said Dr Livia Tomova, first author of the study and who carried out the research while based at the University of Cambridge. “We found that loneliness significantly increases adolescents’ motivation to seek out rewards – whether that’s more social contact, money, or something else.”

Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, senior author of the study from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychology, added: “Virtual interaction with others seems to make isolated teens less driven to seek external rewards, compared to when they are isolated without access to social media. That suggests social media might reduce some of the negative effects of isolation – but of course we don’t know what potentially harmful effects it might have at the same time.”

Researchers believe the urge to seek rewards during isolation may be an evolved response that helps us reconnect socially. However, when social contact isn’t available, it could lead to less healthy behaviours.

Studies suggest that adolescent loneliness has doubled worldwide over the past decade. This research offers important insight into how social context and digital interaction can influence motivation and decision-making in teenagers.

The paper, Acute isolation is associated with increased reward seeking and reward learning in human adolescents, was published in Communications Psychology.

The research was funded by a Henslow Research Fellowship from the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Wellcome, Jacobs Foundation, and Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.