Our Mission and Cause

Team Norse Thunder's social mission sees us using esports as a force for good, a way to bring people together, and a bridge to strengthen communities. As a registered social enterprise, we focus on helping people tackle and beat social isolation and loneliness - both of which can have devastating effects on people's lives. 

While the national lockdowns that we lived through in response to the COVID-19 pandemic brought the term 'isolation' into the public consciousness, social isolation is a problem that hundreds of thousands of people live with every day. The issue is closely linked to loneliness, and there are lots of different causes and effects.  

What is Social Isolation?

Social isolation is described as a long-term lack of meaningful connections and interactions with other people. It's different from loneliness because social isolation is a prolonged absence of meaningful contact, while loneliness is more often perception and feeling driven. 

There are varying factors and circumstances that can lead people to be isolated from others. For example: 

• Economic Factors: A lack or disposable income, unemployment, or the cost of living meaning additional work being taken on can all impact someone's free time or ability to engage in social activities 
• Family Circumstances: Caring responsibilities, single parenting, or other family circumstances can all lead to a lack of opportunities to build connections with people away from home
• Mental and Physical Health: A whole range of mental and physical health conditions limit people's perceived or actual ability to engage with things going on in their community 
• Abusive Relationships: People who have experienced an abusive relationship may have been forced to cut ties with or avoid family members or friends

Effects of Social Isolation 

People who suffer from social isolation can experience a wide range of different effects, but not everyone will go through the same things. 

Social isolation has been shown to lead to lower life satisfaction, higher levels of depression and anxiety, and it also impacts someone’s decision-making abilities, attention span, and memory skills. Over time, it can lead to an increase in aggressive behaviour too.  

Meanwhile, young people suffering from social isolation are more likely to achieve lower grades in education and have lower employment prospects than their peers. At a time when hormones are already having an impact on daily life, the added social isolation and the issues it causes can become a vicious cycle. 

For people in general, studies have shown that those with a lack of social relationships have a higher chance of suffering from coronary heart disease and strokes. There's also a 40% increase in the risk of cognitive decline such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.