The Social motive appears in all Sims games except The Urbz: Sims in the City for consoles and The Sims Medieval.

Sims crave social interaction, whether it be externally or internally. Which a Sim prefers depends on their personality. An introverted Sim will replenish this motive more efficiently chatting metaphysically online with other Sims, texting, or daydreaming about other Sims in their heads. Extroverted Sims also replenish the motive using these methods, but would either find the interaction unsatisfying or drop it in favor of calling another Sim on the phone or inviting the Sim over. Parties are favorable to extroverted Sims, as multiple social partners will fill the need completely in just a few hours. These often are a fear for introverted Sims who don't have the Popularity aspiration and/or are too young to be comfortable in a crowd.

Social is easy to raise on a community lot if the Sim dislikes parties or is too busy to plan one. Depending on game performance, at least a few Sims can be seen around the neighborhood. In The Sims 2, this number can be forced by entering a cheat. Sims can also take others on vacation or go on an outing. Despite first assumptions, all Sims only need one other social partner to have this motive fulfilled.

In The Sims 2, if the social bar is in the red for too long, the Sim will hallucinate, which is represented by the appearance of the Social Bunny, an adult-sized NPC bunny that can only be seen by the Sim that summoned it. Early in the development of The Sims 2, social was represented by two motives; friends and family.

In The Sims 3, going to work will increase a Sim's social bar over time (because they are with their colleagues). This is especially useful if the Sim does not have time to talk to friends. The bar won't shoot right up to the top, but it should be filled a decent bit by the time the Sim returns home.

Moodlets

The Sims 3

Image	Moodlet Name	Mood Effect	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes
	Lonely	-15	14 hours	Low Social Need	Communication is a must for Sims. A quick chat will fix things right away.	Toddlers gain this moodlet faster than other Sims. Lasts 3 days for loners.
	Desolate	-50	Until Sim socializes	Critically Low Social Need	When Sims get really, really lonely, they need to talk to somebody. Anybody.	Sim will refuse to do some menial tasks like tinkering or painting. Children will be taken away by a social worker unless the moodlet goes away.

The Sims 4

Image	Moodlet Name	Effect	Emotion	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes	EP
	Lonely	1	Sad	Becomes Desolate in: 16 Hours	Low Social	Feeling sad from lack of time spent with other Sims!	Changes to "Desolate" when timer expires.
	Very Lonely	2	Sad	Becomes Abandoned in: 16 Hours	Low Social	Outgoing Sims get especially lonely when they haven't interacted with others.	Outgoing Sims only. Changes to "Abandoned" when timer expires. Despite the one in the description, they won't get the "Desolate" moodlet.
	All Alone	2	Sad	10 hours	People Person Lifestyle	Any Sim can be lonely, but <Sim name> is a Sim who loves to be surrounded with as many friends as possible. This has to be extra tough on <him/her>.	Only for Sims with low social need and the "People Person" lifestyle. Changes to "Abandoned and Alone" when timer expires.
	Desolate	3	Sad	Until Sim socializes	Critically Low Social	Desperately in need of contact with other Sims!
	Abandoned	3	Sad	Until Sim socializes	Critically Low Social	Going a long time without social contact can feel like the end of the world for an Outgoing Sim.	Outgoing Sims only.
	Abandoned and Alone	5	Sad	Until Sim socializes	People Person Lifestyle	As a People Person, <Sim name> leads a life full of friendship and conversation. When that's absent it feels especially quiet and lonely.	Only for Sims that has critically low social need with "People Person" lifestyle unlocked.