THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS: LEARNING FROM STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

An individual whose companionship needs are not fulfilled develops a fragile sense of self, negative self-concept and social isolation. This is the central thesis of social connectedness, expressed in structural relationships and functional social aspects. It is without doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered our social activities. The novel pandemic brought about measures that decreased social interactions and interpersonal connections. This book critically uncovered the impact COVID-19 had on senior high school student’s social connectedness in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The qualitative research methodology with an interpretivist viewpoint encapsulated within the inductive epistemological framework was employed in interviewing one hundred (100) senior high school students. The book affirmed that the prolonged closure of schools had a constraining effect on students' social connections, decreased capacity for bonding and peer affiliations.