There are many ways to define connection but for this essay, I will narrow the definition to focus on the relationship between social connection and well-being. Our connections to ourselves, others, our communities, and the environment, plays an important role in our overall health and well-being, and a failure to create meaningful social connections can lead to poorer health outcomes (Cacioppo & Berntson, 4).

From birth, our brains are wired to seek connection as a means of survival (Cacioppo & Berntson, 4-5). Our reliance on social connection extends well beyond birth and remains an important part of growth and development throughout our lives. Researchers Berkman and Glass elaborate on how social connections affects the brain when they posit that, “Social engagement may activate physiologic systems which operate directly to enhance health as well as indirectly by contributing to a sense of coherence and identity which allows for a high level of well-being” (198). These findings are supported by the Harvard Study on Adult Development. In this longest-ever multi-generational study, researchers found that the greatest predictor of health and well-being was our positive relationships (Waldinger, et al., 2015). Contributing researcher, George Valliant, explains that “when the study began, nobody cared about empathy or attachment. But the key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, relationships (Aging Well, 2002). The most startling finding from the Harvard Study was that poor social connections lead to an increased risk of death and that loneliness is as harmful to the body as smoking or alcoholism (Waldinger, et al., 2015).

Surprisingly, as research findings continue to support the relationship between social connection and well-being and as our access to technology that makes connecting with others easier than ever increases, researchers are reporting an increase in reported loneliness across the population. In a recent study by the Making Caring Common Project at Harvard University, data suggests that 36% of Americans reported feeling lonely “frequently” or “almost all the time or all the time”, with 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children reporting these excruciating feelings of loneliness (Weissbourd, et al., 1).

Since the level of social connections we experience is tied to our health and well-being and accessing social connections through technology appears to be increasing loneliness, how do we improve our social connections in our everyday lives? In a 2018 Psychology Today article, author Tchiki Davis Ph.D., suggested that readers practice self-kindness, talk to strangers, tend to their existing social network, practice altruism through volunteer work, spend money on experiences, generate a sense of awe, and spend more time connecting face-to-face. If you are one of the many people experiencing an increase in loneliness, try a few of the above suggestions and hopefully you too will experience improved health and happiness through increased social connection.

Work Cited

Berkman, L. F., & Kawachi, I. (Eds.). (2000). Social Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.

Cacioppo, J. T. (2002). Foundations in Social Neuroscience. MIT Press.

Davis, Tchiki. “Feeling Lonely? Discover 18 Ways to Overcome Loneliness.” Psychology Today, 18 Feb. 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201902/feeling-lonely-discover-18-ways-overcome-loneliness

Harvard University (2015). Harvard Second Generation Study. Retrieved June 7, 2023, from https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/

Vaillant G. E. (2002). Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development (1st ed.). Little Brown.

Weissbourd, E, et al. “Loneliness in America.” Harvard Graduate School of Education: Making Caring Common Project,(n.d.), https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/6021776bdd04957c4557c212/1612805995893/Loneliness+in+A merica+2021_02_08_FINAL.pdf  Accessed 12 May 2022.