Staying Connected: How Close Friendships Supported Emotional Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In times of high stress, support from our social networks is essential. This paper tested the influence of close friendships on young adults’ well-being in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (May-October 2020). In a longitudinal study of 28 days (N = 205 participants; 10,088 observations), students with more close friends in college, as reported pre-pandemic, adjusted better to COVID-19 stressors, even when away from campus. Follow-up analyses revealed that this effect could be partially explained by differences in the quality of significant online conversations. Students with many close friends in college benefited equally from important in-person and online conversations. In contrast, those with few close friends experienced higher negative affect and lower positive affect on days when their most important interactions were online vs. in-person. Participants’ number of friends was uncorrelated with their number of online interactions or personality traits. Our intensive longitudinal design also permitted investigation, within individuals, of how online vs. in-person interactions led to feelings of closeness. Personal disclosures emerged as the base of closeness in both types of communications; all participants felt closer to their interaction partners when one of them shared something personal, regardless of whether the interaction took place in-person or online. This effect was stronger for those with few close friends, suggesting that individuals can foster connection in everyday interactions by allowing themselves—and inviting others—to be vulnerable. This research leveraged social network and longitudinal methods to highlight how young adults coped with the COVID-19 pandemic through their friendship networks.