Value of Social Connection

Written by Nina Geoffroy-Suppes, MSW, SWC
1/18/2023

Social connection is essential to our success as human beings. Did you know that people are more likely to succeed academically and professionally when they have a strong support network? It can be easy when life is hectic to not make time for things like friends and family. We can look at social time as a luxury not a necessity. It is important we do not fall into that, because it offers many health and cognitive benefits. For example, in school, friendships are seen to increase academic support, emotional support, feelings of belonging, perceptions of school, and better ability to meet academic demands (Lessard & Juvonen, 2022). Positive social interactions have also been found to support intellectual growth, complex problem solving ability, perspective taking, and motivation (Wentzel et al., 2018).

Be sure to follow our blog for more tips! Next week we will share how you can make more time in your life for these positive social interactions when it feels like there isn’t enough time in the day.

References

Lessard, L. & Juvonen, J. (2022). The academic benefits of maintaining friendships across the transition to high school. Journal of School Psychology, 92, p. 136-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2022.03.005

Wentzel, K., Jablansky, S., & Scalise, N. (2018). Do friendships afford academic benefits? A meta-analytic study. Educational Psychology Review, 30, p. 1241-1267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9447-5