TORONTO -- An expert in psychology believes the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases among young people in Canada is not surprising -- and ultimately comes down to their need to build social networks.

For the past two days, health officials in Ontario have announced that more than 50 per cent of the new COVID-19 cases in the province are among people under 40 years of age. In total, the province announced 368 new cases of COVID-19 since Tuesday.

Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, called the increase in COVID-19 cases “not really surprising by any means” and pointed to something he called “optimal arousal theory,” which suggests that everyone enjoys a certain amount of social activity in their lives, but a lack of these interactions can build up among people.

“If we have months of being at home, we are craving some social interactions with other people,” he said. “This is especially true of young people for whom they’re in the stage of their life where building the social networks they will rely on for their entire life and it is really where their mind is often focused.”

Joordens said because older adults have likely already formed these long-term romantic relationships and friendships, that they are more likely to wait before socializing.

“We all want these social interactions as well, but we think: ‘Oh, well let’s just wait a little longer before we go a little too crazy with this and let’s get the rate of disease lower,’” he said.

Joordens said the working conditions of the younger population also plays a role, as many of them work in the service industry or in retail, which are slowly reopening and can give a younger person a sense of security.

“When you work in an industry where it feels like it’s over or it’s ending, you can very quickly want to jump all the way back to where we were,” he said. “I think that’s the situation that these people are in.”

Joordens also pointed to increased alcohol consumption on patios and at bars among younger people as a reason for the cases.

“You have a drink or two in you and suddenly it’s hard to follow the rules,” he said.