  One of the most impactful measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in its
early first years was the lockdown, implemented by governments to reduce
physical contact among people and minimize opportunities for the virus to
spread. As people were compelled to limit their physical interactions and stay
at home, they turned to online social platforms to alleviate feelings of
loneliness. Ego networks represent how people organize their relationships due
to human cognitive constraints that impose limits on meaningful interactions
among people. Physical contacts were disrupted during the lockdown, causing
socialization to shift entirely online, leading to a shift in socialization
into online platforms. Our research aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown
measures on online ego network structures potentially caused by the increase of
cognitive expenses in online social networks. In particular, we examined a
large Twitter dataset of users, covering 7 years of their activities. We found
that during the lockdown, there was an increase in network sizes and a richer
structure in social circles, with relationships becoming more intimate.
Moreover, we observe that, after the lockdown measures were relaxed, these
features returned to their pre-lockdown values.
