The world may be more connected than ever before, but that fact hasn’t curbed the growing issue of social isolation, which is impacting the physical and mental health of people in the United States and around the world. Social isolation often develops without a person realizing they’re falling into it, and they discover they’re feeling cut off from the outside world until it’s too late.
Enter community organizations.
During an appearance on O’Neill Speaks, the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Assistant Professor Brad Fulton looked to community organizations such as hobby clubs, veteran associations, arts groups, charities, religious congregations, and groups like them as an answer to overcoming social isolation.
“(Social isolation) has a slow creep,” Fulton said. “A person doesn’t realize that they’re socially isolated until a need arises, and then all of a sudden, they find themselves alone and without any connections or a support system. Part of the idea is to help people get connected before they need the connections, that support system. In many ways, community organizations, because there is such a variety that can really appeal to people’s diverse interests and needs, can play a critical role in helping people get connected.”
Fulton said people don’t have to be deeply invested to enjoy the benefits.
“They just need to have some loose ties to one or two or three community organizations, whether it be a neighborhood association or a hobby club or a religious congregation, so that when the need arises, they find, ‘Oh yeah, I’m not isolated. I know people that I can reach out to and turn to, or I have people who are going to reach out to me and ask me how I’m doing, or if I have any needs,’” Fulton said.
The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a report showing that social isolation increases the risk of premature death by 29 percent, the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and other serious medical conditions.
Fulton, who is an expert on the social, political, and economic impact of community-based organizations and co-leads IU’s Observing Civil Engagement project, added that community organizations can help lower the temperature when it comes to the polarization of society.
“When you think of an engagement online, it’s often anonymous, or it feels fairly anonymous,” Fulton said. “People can make much more inflammatory comments with much more extreme language with little repercussion. In-person, the engagement is going to be more tempered. There’s more opportunity for openness to increasing one’s understanding through dialog.”
O’Neill Speaks can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast service.
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