Our society has undergone rapid changes in daily life since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak [1]. Owing to social distancing, most classes were switched online, and face-to-face interaction decreased among college students [2]. Conversely, online activities including social networking services (SNSs), online shopping, media viewing, and internet search have increased [2]. The increase in physical and mental fatigue and stress due to excessive online and digital device use compared with that during the pre-COVID-19 period is referred to as digital burnout, a newly coined term, and is becoming a social problem [3]. Sleep deprivation, stress, and psychological fatigue are the effects of digital burnout [3]. Continuing only non-face-to-face exchanges in virtual space reduces social relations required in the real world and negatively affects interpersonal relationship formation [4], and excessive online learning using digital devices degrade social intelligence and increase loneliness [5]. Therefore, identifying the factors associated with social intelligence and loneliness is essential to understanding how digital burnout and reduced face-to-face interaction contribute to emotional well-being.

Social intelligence refers to the ability to perceive and interact with others in social comprehension [5]. As social intelligence is exerted by interpreting relationships between individuals, building emotional connections, and using social interaction skills [6], it affects not only social adaptation and interpersonal relationships but also professional abilities, acting as an essential factor in work and school [7]. Understanding the factors associated with social intelligence is critical to addressing its decline and ensuring the development of necessary social skills, particularly in online learning environments. Meanwhile, loneliness refers to the emotional experience of a mismatch between one’s ideal social interactions and the reality of their current relationships [8]. Loneliness is a significant issue that negatively impacts not only an individual’s health but also the overall well-being of society [8]. Therefore, thoroughly exploring its associated factors is an essential process for developing effective solutions. Reduced social relationships due to decreased social intelligence induce social isolation, thereby increasing loneliness [9]. As online relationship formation lacks nonverbal elements and cannot completely replace face-to-face communication [10], the lack of interaction through face-to-face dialogues can increase loneliness, a psychological deficiency [11]. Therefore, understanding how the decline in social intelligence contributes to loneliness can guide efforts to promote healthier social environments and better emotional support for individuals.

Identifying the associating factors of social intelligence and loneliness is crucial for developing strategies to improve social interaction skills and emotional connections, especially in a digital age. College students fall into the transition period from adolescence to adulthood and are vulnerable to mental health problems [12]. Moreover, the younger the age group, the more likely they are to be stressed by the constraints of daily life because of infectious diseases [13]; therefore, they will be significantly affected by social distancing. Social intelligence and social life can be negatively affected by the reduction of interaction in the online learning environment experienced by college students [14]. A deeper understanding of how online learning impacts both social intelligence and loneliness can provide valuable insights into improving students’ overall well-being. Previous studies have explored topics such as digital burnout [3], loneliness [9,14,15], and the relationship between interaction types and mental health [16] related to the pandemic. Additionally, research has been conducted on the relationship between social intelligence and loneliness [5,7]. However, there has been no study that comprehensively examines the relationship between interaction types, digital burnout, social intelligence, and loneliness specifically among university students. Although the COVID-19 global health emergency is over, online usage time is expected to continue to increase because of digital technology development and telecommuting system activation. Here, understanding the relationship between face-to-face communication time, digital burnout, social intelligence, and loneliness for social emotional support among college students is necessary. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the relationship between face-to-face communication time, digital burnout, social intelligence, and loneliness to suggest the direction in which online use should proceed.

This descriptive study was conducted to understand the effects of college students’ face-to-face communication time and digital burnout on their social intelligence and loneliness. In this study, college students reported a mean digital burnout score of 65.42±15.95, which corresponds to a moderate level of burnout. This score is lower than the mean of 72.78±18.92 reported by Turkish nursing students during the 2020~2021 academic year, when remote learning was widely implemented due to the early phase of the pandemic [3]. The relatively lower score in the present study, conducted in July 2022, may reflect a transitional period when digital demands began to recede. Nonetheless, these findings collectively indicate that digital burnout remains a significant concern among university students in the post-pandemic context. This study also revealed that the social intelligence score (98.16±14.30) was higher than that reported for Turkish nursing students in a previous study (74.15±9.98) [5]. Conversely, the loneliness score (42.09±10.93; mean item score: 2.10) was slightly higher than the previously reported score (mean item score: 1.74) [5]. This difference may be attributable to the timing of the studies, as Savci et al. [5] conducted their research in 2020, while the present study took place during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the onset of COVID-19, loneliness among adolescents has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels, with variations observed based on sex, levels of social support, and perceived social impact of the pandemic [9]. Social intelligence, defined as the ability to communicate effectively and interact with others [7], is particularly important for university students, who need to cultivate the skills to form and sustain healthy, close relationships [7]. As university students are in a critical stage of interpersonal and developmental growth [9], it is essential to screen for and address loneliness within this population.

This study identified digital burnout, loneliness, and computer-related education and certifications as the factors associated with social intelligence. Both loneliness and digital burnout were found to negatively impact social intelligence, supporting existing research [7,21]. The finding on digital burnout aligns with previous studies suggesting that frequent use of and immersion in digital technology negatively affects social intelligence and increases social isolation [21]. In digital environments, communication often relies on elements like emoticons that can distort real emotions, making it difficult to fully understand others’ feelings. Additionally, the potential for constant connectivity can lead to fatigue, which may further hinder one’s ability to accurately perceive others’ intentions. Given that social intelligence is largely acquired and can be developed through diverse social experiences continues to mature throughout early adulthood [5,22], interventions aimed at enhancing it during this developmental stage may be particularly effective. Moreover, preventing digital burnout is anticipated to facilitate the development of social intelligence among college students. Loneliness was also identified as a factor that negatively affects social intelligence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, policies such as social distancing led to increased isolation, which reduced opportunities to engage in or learn from social interactions. In an attempt to compensate for loneliness, individuals may turn to excessive use of social media [23]; while this may enable temporary social connection, it limits meaningful emotional exchanges and may ultimately diminish social intelligence. Moreover, computer-related education and certifications were positively associated with social intelligence. This is consistent with previous studies on social intelligence and professional ability [7], suggesting that digital burnout and social intelligence are affected not only by the amount of digital device use but also by how these devices are used. Conversely, while face-to-face communication time showed a significant positive correlation with social intelligence; it was not found to be a significant predictor of social intelligence. Although face-to-face communication time has decreased since COVID-19, its association with social intelligence has relatively diminished, as online communication—including the use of non-face-to-face channels—has increased, and sociability has improved through the formation of online social relationships [2,5]. This trend may reflect the increased and widespread formation of social relationships through non-face-to-face communication following COVID-19. Therefore, future studies should examine social intelligence based on the quality and limitations of social interaction, rather than distinguishing between online and offline interactions.

Second, digital burnout, social intelligence, and being a liberal arts major were significant factors related to loneliness. Digital burnout, characterized by constant exposure to digital devices, can lead to emotional exhaustion and a sense of detachment from others [3]. Loneliness can increase more quickly as online use increases [15,23,24], especially for individuals who feel that their opportunities for social interaction are limited online [5]. When individuals are mentally drained from digital overload, they may find it harder to engage in meaningful social interactions, which can lead to feelings of loneliness. Online interactions often lack the depth and emotional connection that face-to-face interactions provide [25]. While digital communication offers convenience, it often fails to foster genuine, empathetic connections. This absence of authentic interaction can contribute to feelings of loneliness, as individuals may feel that their social needs are not being fully met. As loneliness is associated with social intelligence, it was also found that social intelligence has a relationship with loneliness, indicating a bidirectional relationship between the two. Social skills, a subfactor of social intelligence, refer to an individual’s ability to behave appropriately in interpersonal relationships [18]. Social awareness involves recognizing appropriate behaviors in social contexts, while social information processing includes understanding others’ emotions [18]. In other words, individuals with high social intelligence respond and behave appropriately in relationships and social environments, and their ability to understand others’ thoughts can predict lower levels of loneliness [7]. Individuals with higher social intelligence are generally better at forming and maintaining meaningful connections, which can protect them from loneliness [5]. Socially intelligent individuals are often more adept at navigating social networks, managing conflicts, and engaging with others, leading to greater social integration and less loneliness. However, face-to-face communication time was negatively correlated with loneliness, but it was not a significant influencing factor of loneliness. During the pandemic lockdown period, face-to-face communication showed a stronger correlation with mental health compared to digital communication [16]. However, studies on digital communication show mixed results. While voice calls [7] and text-based communication, such as e-mail or SMS, have been found to positively impact well-being and mental health, video chatting has been associated with negative effects [16]. It is possible that, in this study, the positive and negative effects of digital communication, apart from face-to-face conversation time, also played a role. However, since this study did not investigate digital text-based communication, this remains unconfirmed. This suggests that managing student mental health during periods of social restriction, such as pandemics, requires a nuanced approach to promoting interaction. The liberal arts major also acted as a significant factor associated with loneliness, suggesting that the degree of loneliness may vary depending on the participant’s major of study. While instructional methods may differ slightly across institutions, during the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 70% of courses conducted face-to-face were laboratory, practicum, or performance-based classes. Therefore, it can be inferred that students in liberal arts majors, which typically involve fewer hands-on courses, experienced higher levels of loneliness compared to those in arts-related majors [26].

In summary, digital burnout was identified as a significant factor associated with both social intelligence and loneliness. Thus, a key strategy for improving college students’ social intelligence and reducing loneliness is preventing and managing digital burnout. Previously, it was believed that digital burnout and social intelligence could be affected by the way digital devices are used rather than merely their use. Therefore, helping college students prevent digital burnout by promoting healthy digital habits is critically important. Furthermore, cultivating healthy online social relationships could reduce loneliness and promote the development of social intelligence among college students. Digital burnout may be alleviated by promoting sleep hygiene practices and implementing organizational policies that provide mental health support [27]. The relationship between loneliness and social intelligence is dynamic and reciprocal. Social intelligence can act as a protective factor against loneliness by enhancing one’s ability to connect with others and engage in positive social interactions. Conversely, chronic loneliness can diminish one’s social intelligence by limiting opportunities for social practice and emotional learning. Thus, improving social intelligence could be a valuable approach in managing and reducing loneliness, especially in situations where social interactions are limited. This study is significant in that it examines digital burnout among college students in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores its associated factors, offering important implications for nursing education. Enhancing social intelligence may serve as an effective strategy to promote optimal mental well-being and prevent the onset of mental health disorders [28]. Therefore, integrating strategies derived from the findings of this study into nursing curricula could help support students’ mental health. Furthermore, incorporating structured opportunities for meaningful peer interaction and digital wellness education into nursing programs may strengthen interpersonal competence among nursing students. Additionally, fostering the formation of social relationships through the healthy use of digital technology may serve as a new countermeasure to loneliness among college students.

This study has several limitations. First, the small sample size limited the ability to represent the entire college student population and generalize the findings. Therefore, future research should examine loneliness in relation to individual tendencies to identify more precise contributing factors. Second, the sample consisted mainly of voluntary respondents from a specific region, which limits the representativeness of the sample and warrants caution when generalizing the results to the entire college student population. Third, the online learning experiences during the pandemic varied among participants. Some likely experienced online learning in both high school and university, while others only at the university level. This difference may have contributed to variations in the research results. Fourth, face-to-face communication time was measured using a single item, which may have been subjectively interpreted by respondents, potentially leading to inconsistent responses. Thus, more precise and validated measures are needed in future studies. Finally, participants may have enhanced their social intelligence by adapting to prolonged social distancing and online environments during the pandemic. Accordingly, future research should explore the relationships among study variables based on individuals’ levels of adaptation to non-face-to-face systems and digital environments.

This study was conducted to confirm the face-to-face communication time, digital burnout, social intelligence, and loneliness of college students and identify the factors affecting social intelligence and loneliness. The results confirmed that identifying the degree of digital burnout, cultivating ways to cope with it, and improving social intelligence can reduce loneliness among college students. Conversely, face-to-face conversation time was not identified as a factor that directly affects social intelligence and loneliness; however, it had a significant correlation. Therefore, further research is needed to consider other factors. Based on the results of this study, developing an intervention to prevent and overcome digital burnout to positively affect the social intelligence and loneliness of college students is necessary. Prior research has identified sleep hygiene—particularly limiting screen use before bedtime—as an effective strategy for mitigating digital burnout [27]. Building on the present findings, digital self-regulation through targeted educational programs may be beneficial, as students with computer-related training demonstrated higher social intelligence. Furthermore, promoting emotionally meaningful online interactions, such as small-group discussions, may enhance social connectedness and reduce loneliness in virtual environments. Finally, reducing excessive use of SNSs may help prevent maladaptive coping responses to digital fatigue and social isolation.