Social Science Research Network | 2021
Loneliness in COVID-19, Life, and the Law
Abstract
This Article analyzes loneliness in the COVID-19 pandemic, life, and the legal profession, especially in legal education. This Article examines: (1) loneliness: what it is, who is lonely, how loneliness affects an individual, and recent evidence about experiences of loneliness in the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) personal, organizational, and societal costs of loneliness; (3) current research about well-being and loneliness in the legal profession and legal education; (4) results from the first loneliness survey of law students; and (5) three evidence-based interventions to mitigate loneliness: mindfulness, talk therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy), and inclusion. In so doing, this Article investigates the individual, organizational, personal, professional, and social costs of loneliness.