Eine Studie hat ergeben, dass Jugendliche hoch motiviert sind, nach wenigen Stunden sozialer Isolation Belohnungen zu suchen, und einige Menschen anfälliger für Belohnungen wie Alkohol oder Freizeitdrogen sind

>This increased motivation to seek rewards can help with social reconnection. But when connecting with others is not possible, the behaviour change might be problematic – for example, by making some people more prone to seek out rewards such as alcohol or recreational drugs.
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>The study found that the effect was stronger in adolescents who reported feeling lonelier while in isolation. When study participants were allowed to interact with others on social media during isolation, they reported feeling less lonely – and their reward-seeking behaviour changed less dramatically as a result.
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>Researchers recruited young people from the local area in Cambridge, UK, conducting extensive screening to gather a group of 40 adolescents aged 16-19 who had good social connections, no history of mental health problems, and average levels of loneliness for their age group.
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>Participants were given initial tests to establish their baseline score for each task. Then on two different days, they were asked to spend between three and four hours alone in a room before completing the same computer-based tasks again.
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>On one of the isolation days participants had no social interaction at all, but on the other they had access to virtual social interactions through their phone or laptop.
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>The study found that when virtual interactions were available, almost half the participants spent over half their time online – predominantly using Snapchat, Instagram and WhatsApp to message their friends.
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[Acute isolation is associated with increased reward seeking and reward learning in human adolescents | Communications Psychology](https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-025-00306-6)