When the world shut down in early 2020, stories became lifelines.  

For researchers at McMaster University, they were also powerful tools for understanding how older adults were coping with the isolation, uncertainty, and emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

While numbers often illustrate research, in this case, the impact came through best in personal narratives people shared. 

A new dataset released by the CoSoWELL (Cognitive and Social Well-being) project offers a look at how people aged 55 to 84 across North America experienced loneliness, connection, and resilience during the pandemic.  

The study, which began in March 2019, followed more than 2,000 participants in eight waves of data collection, capturing their reflections on the past and hopes for the future. 

“We were interested in how language reflects emotion. Specifically, we looked at autobiographical memory, how people describe personal experiences, and how that changed over the pandemic,” explains Marc-Antoine Paul, a PhD candidate in the Department of Linguistics and Languages who co-authored the study as part of the Cognitive Science of Language program.   

Participants completed a series of online tasks, including demographic and loneliness questionnaires, and shared their narratives by responding to writing prompts. In each session, they wrote about a past event and a future event, allowing researchers to track shifts in emotional tone and content as the pandemic progressed.  

“One of the most striking findings was that emotional decline didn’t happen right away,” says Paul. “People didn’t immediately express more negative emotions after lockdowns began in March 2020. It was only months later, around October, that we saw a noticeable dip in emotional well-being in their stories.”   

As the pandemic wore on, the stories changed. Early narratives resembled those collected before COVID-19, but by mid-2020, themes of health, illness, and mortality became more prominent. Mentions of everyday social activities, like going for coffee or meeting friends, faded. 

“These changes suggest that the pandemic not only affected how people felt, but also how they remembered and talked about their lives. There was a clear move away from lighthearted or routine memories toward more serious, sometimes sombre reflections,” he says.  

That emotional shift extended into how people imagined the future. Initially, future-oriented stories were hopeful and free from pandemic-related concerns. But by fall 2020, themes of illness and uncertainty began to appear in those narratives, too. 

The structure of the writing also evolved. As loneliness increased, so did the length and complexity of the stories. 

By the final round of data collection in March 2022, the emotional tone had begun to stabilize, though it didn’t necessarily return to normal. 

“It’s hard to say if that was truly post-pandemic – there was still a lot of uncertainty. It would be interesting to see how people feel now,” says Paul.  

But the research didn’t stop at observation. 

“The project also explored ways to relieve social isolation and loneliness among older citizens by establishing a series of intergenerational programs on creative writing in Canada and the US,” says Victor Kuperman, a professor of linguistics who oversaw the project. 

More than 200 of the seniors under study took part in regular online meetings where they shared and discussed their writing. High school and university volunteers helped participants navigate Zoom and submit their stories through a user-friendly platform, boosting both digital literacy and confidence. 

“The programs pursued two goals,” Kuperman explains. “One was to provide an aesthetic and creative outlet through storytelling and story-sharing. Another was to increase digital literacy among seniors who don’t have the technological know-how for connecting with the world online.” 

Participants reported feeling more connected and empowered. Three books of their creative writing have been published and became favourite gifts to family and friends, Kuperman says.  

The work even reached Parliament. In June 2021, Kuperman presented findings from the project to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, contributing to federal policy discussions on digital access and infrastructure for seniors. 

“This line of research has been the most rewarding,” says Kuperman. “It went well beyond the academic interest in emotional and cognitive well-being of older adults during the pandemic. Instead, it allowed our group to shift the needle and improve lives in the segment of the population that was hit particularly hard.”