Human life unfolds through two fundamental modes of being: with others and alone. Social interactions permeate everyday life, and whether brief or prolonged, deep or superficial, face-to-face or online, these exchanges are the building blocks of our relationships. They play a vital role in our psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Contemporary research shows that the key to a rich social life is not how many interactions we have, but how meaningful and positive they are. It also suggests that the quality of a social interaction depends on both situational and individual factors, and how they combine.

Situational factors are the context that surrounds an interaction – whether it occurs face-to-face or virtually, in small or large groups, and with familiar or unfamiliar partners. Individual factors, such as personality traits, reflect the unique characteristics of the people involved.

With loneliness fast becoming a major mental health crisis, it is vital that we learn more about how to build meaningful relationships. Amid this panorama, people with social anxiety offer particularly useful insight into the way socialising works.

Interaction quality and energy

Social anxiety is a fear or discomfort that some people feel in real or imagined social situations. A common misconception is that socially anxious people struggle with all social interactions, and that they experience lower wellbeing because their anxiety makes their social encounters lower in quality and perceived enjoyment.

Energy expenditure also........

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