Lonely by comparison: Understanding loneliness through network alter status, ego status, and regional status

While social connectedness typically mitigates loneliness, certain social ties may intensify it. Drawing on conceptual frameworks of upward social comparison and relative deprivation, this study investigates whether occupational status accessed through social networks (network alter status) at both individual and regional levels is associated with loneliness, and how the association is moderated by the person’s own occupational status (ego status). Analyses of the 2017 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data yielded three main findings. First, a composite measure of network alter status (combining extensity, upper reachability, range, and cumulative prestige) was positively associated with higher loneliness. Second, this association was stronger among individuals with low ego status. Third, living in regions with greater average network alter status (regional status) was associated with greater loneliness. The findings suggest that status exposure through social networks may therefore contribute to loneliness rather than buffer it.