Digital Collage

Intro paper for digital collage - ISS 355

 As I have progressed through my coursework in the ISS program, I have been deeply interested in, and influenced by, the work I’ve done relating to Sociology. Each course has added new layers of information to my understanding of how we connect to ourselves, each other, and the world around us. The older I get and the more I learn, the more deeply I feel that these three topics are interconnected which ignites my desire to research and highlight their importance to us as individuals, families, communities, nations, and as a global society.

 When it was time to create a digital collage, I knew that I wanted to highlight the interconnections of family, community, and connection. As I did a little digging into each of these topics, a social theory emerged that captured how and why these topics are important, and that is the theory of social cohesion. According to Health.gov, “Social cohesion refers to the strength of the relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a community. One indicator of social cohesion is the amount of social capital a community has”. Social capital is an important aspect of societal well-being and has three dimensions: “interconnected networks of relationships between individuals and groups (social ties or social participation), levels of trust that characterize these ties, and resources or benefits that are both gained and transferred by virtue of social ties and social participation” (Britannica.com).

 Our families play an important role in social capital and social cohesion. Sociologist Susan Ziehl states, “The primary role of the family is that of socialization, that is, ensuring that each new generation knows and abides by the cultural values and norms of the society in question. In this way, the family contributes to the smooth functioning of society, and thus, to social cohesion”. For example, my values are showing up for people and working to create the community/society I want to live in. In practice that looks like caring for others, picking up garbage around our neighborhood, supporting local businesses, and showing up for community events. As a parent, I want to pass these important values onto my children so that they become adults that strive towards social cohesion in their families and communities as well.

 The connection we share with family, friends, and our communities is of vital importance to our health and well-being. People with strong social connections tend to live longer, have stronger immune systems, recover from disease faster, and have lower levels of anxiety and depression. While poor social connections can lead to an increased risk of early death, even more so than obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure (Seppala, 2014). Strong social connections also increase social capital through social networks. These networks provide opportunities for access to things like jobs, healthcare, education, and other community support.

Family and social connections are important for an individual’s physical and mental well-being and play important roles in creating and building social capital. The roles of family, connection, and community are symbiotic. Healthy individuals come together to benefit their communities and in turn enjoy safer, healthier, communities with access to goods and services that benefit them, and the cycle continues. Of course, the opposite is also true and unhealthy people and unhealthy communities can perpetuate negative outcomes. For this digital collage, I chose to only focus on the positive aspects of these relationships.

 The past few years have been incredibly difficult as we have all experienced collective trauma through the pandemic, political elections, gun violence, and increased awareness of experienced racism in the daily life of BIPOC individuals and within our most highly respected institutions. I hope that if we can focus on building stronger and healthier families through individual effort as well as strong social connections, we can also increase social cohesion and create healthier, happier, more cohesive cities, states, and nations that will benefit current and future generations for years to come.

Work Cited

Seppala, E. “Connectedness & Health: The Science of Social Connection. Stanford Medicine: The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, 8 May, 2014, http://ccare.stanford.edu/uncategorized/connectedness-health-the-science-of-social-connection-infographic/

 Poteyeva, M. “Social Capital.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-capital.  Accessed 6 June 2022.

Ziehl, S. What Holds Us Together: Social Cohesion in South Africa. Edited by Chidester, et al., 2003.

“Social Cohesion.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/social-cohesion#:~:text=Social%20cohesion%20refers%20to%20the,knowledge%20of%20a%20job%20opening. Accessed 6 June 2022.