Stay Connected
Social Connection – The Gift For Lifetime Happiness
By Megan Prentiss on behalf of Lively, www.mylively.com
The aging of our Baby Boomer population has sparked a national discussion on the impact on our health care and social security system. There’s another aspect to our aging population that has received comparatively little fanfare: social connection, or the lack thereof.
Our degree of our social connectedness could determine how long we live as well as the incidence and severity of health problems. Studies tell us that socially isolated individuals are at greater risk for an array of serious ailments ranging from depression to heart disease. A Harvard University report revealed how the odds of mental decline doubled for seniors with no social ties compared to those who had frequent contact with relatives and friends or participated in social activities.
Conversely, the evidence continues to mount in demonstrating that social connection provides enormous benefits. Researchers have found that individuals with a rich social network lived at least 1.6 years longer than their peers. Malcolm Gladwell even illustrated in his book Outliers that rich communal ties and connection can have a more profound effect on human health than good nutrition, premium medical care, or exercise.
Interconnected relationships are even more important for life satisfaction as we get older. According to Laura Carstensen, founding director at the Stanford Center on Longevity and author of A Long Bright Future, we place a higher value on emotional satisfaction and seek to maximize positive emotional experiences as we age.
Nowadays, the challenge is figuring out how to maintain and create tight emotionally satisfying social connections with friends and family.
Oftentimes, the desire to age in place and remain in one’s home results in geographic separation from adult children and other relatives. Additionally, while many of us now rely on an army of Internet connected devices to stay in contact with friends, family, and work colleagues, only 35% of American adults age 76 and older use the Internet or email with even fewer using a smartphone.
This generational connection problem is being examined not just by individual families, but also by communities and the private sector, most notably the tech industry itself.
Lively’s (www.mylively.com) goal is to increase the quality of care and connection between older adults and their loved ones. Lively makes stylish activity sensors that measure daily activity levels around the house while giving family members insight when help may be needed. They’re attached to everyday household items, such as the refrigerator, pill boxes, or one’s TV remote control, to help answer some of the persistent nagging questions that worry loved ones: Are you eating regularly? Getting out of the house? Taking medication on time? Notifications can be sent by email or text message when activity behavior differs from normal, enabling family members to gain insight of small changes that may hint at bigger problems that can be prevented.
The real genius behind the product is that older adult users don’t need to have Internet access to be connected with Lively, and Lively ups the ante on the connection problem posed by geographic and technological isolation with LivelyGram: a twice monthly mailer of messages and photos from loved ones submitted from Facebook, Flickr, and Instagram so the activity sharing, and the sense of connection and wellbeing goes both ways.
Storyworth (www.storyworth.com) is another company trying to strengthen intergenerational family connections. The service sends questions to elder loved ones via phone or email that curates their answers to gather family history, provide new conversation starters, and deepen relationships.
Additionally, the Village to Village Network (www.vtvnetwork.org) is an a grassroots organization that connects volunteers with older adults to provide help and support. This can include help with getting chores done, transportation services, and socializing. Village to Village builds a sense of community by facilitating face to face interaction between generations without older adults to have Internet access.
It’s comforting to know that as our demographics change, companies and communities are stepping up to the challenge of keeping us more emotionally and socially connected. Our interdependence is essential to a lifetime of health and happiness.
Category: Blog
