The Importance of Social Connectedness
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023) defines social connectedness as “the degree to which people have and perceive a desired number, quality, and diversity of relationships that create a sense of belonging, and being cared for, valued, and supported.” In other words, social connectedness relates not only to having established connections, but it also relates to the level in which those connections elicit feelings of belonging, value, and support. Obviously, everybody has varying preferences related to who they interact with – the number of interactions, the quality of the interactions, and the diversity of the interactions can be personalized and entirely unique to the individual. Essentially, the feeling of social connectedness is entirely subjective; there is no “magic number” of friends or interactions that everyone must reach. Rather, as long as one feels socially connected, then they truly are socially connected. That being stated, ...