Is Social Interaction a Must for Humans?

How positive social interactions benefit our health

by Uxío Fernández Ferrás

The human necessity for social interaction is a deeply studied topic, especially in recent years. Late stage capitalist societies in the 21st century seem obsessed with people being productive and growing more ambitious; so the huge amount of hours daily dedicated to work or education, make it more difficult to find moments to foster important social connections. In big cities, where individualism is more evident and life seems to be in a permanent rush, paradoxically this lack of social interaction can be even greater.

COVID-19 pandemic was probably the peak of this “social struggle” for many people, it emphasised the need for social connection, but also brought forth mental health as an overarching concern. Along with the disease itself or the uncertainty of the period, the whole or partial lack of social interaction during the lockdown made people value the importance of it in their lives.

Even the work environment, a social interaction space for lots of people (mostly those living alone), is being threatened in recent years by the rise of remote working. Apart from the obvious positive effects you feel when someone makes you laugh or hugs you when you are struggling, also our health benefits from social interaction in almost an incalculable way.

Authors like Jessica Martino and Jennifer Pegg note that a positive social interaction has a broad variety of benefits: it controls our body mass and sugars, improves the recovery of diseases like cancer, prevents depression or mitigates posttraumatic stress symptoms. Our brain and mental health improve when social interaction is positive and we feel supported and connected with other people, but the opposite can be really harmful to us. Those with less developed social skills, the ones living in some kind of an isolation or those experiencing negative social interactions (like being denied the expression of their feelings, receiving critical remarks, feeling their privacy invaded, etc) could be in a dilemma if the situation gets prolonged in the future.

Some experts like Holt-Lunstad reported that low or negative social interaction has similar harmful effects to our body as being an alcoholic or smoking several cigarettes a day and worse than obesity or sedentary lifestyle. Our brain gets so stimulated by social interaction, according to UCLA professor Matthew Lieberman, when we get rejected or we experience social pain, it hurts as much as it would do when suffering from physical damage. What happens in our brain definitely conditions our health and body, so keeping positive social interactions and, consequently, a steady mental health, is crucial in order to make our life easier and happier.

“When we get rejected or we experience social pain, it hurts as much as it would do when suffering from physical damage. ”

As previously proved, the crucial point is not only to socialise but the interactions should be as positive, stable, healthy and varied as they can. Even if we are distant or we don’t have enough time to meet our beloved ones, the infinite possibilities that social media offers us to keep in touch, can bring us health benefits in the future. People often tend to ignore that a proper and healthy social life could be one of the basis of a right lifestyle, and we should take better care of it as much as we do for other aspects of our daily lives.

Humans are undoubtedly social animals and so we should try to foster rich social relationships, respecting each one’s “social battery” and boundaries, but not denying the fact that socialising is a key factor in our personal development. So go out and socialise, your health will thank you for it!