Weak ties benefit physical health?
http://www.journalgazette.net/features/20180903/study-even-weak-social-ties-have-benefits
This Washington Post article discusses the significance and benefits of weak ties in a social network. Typically we are more reminded by the benefits of strong ties, such as family and close friends, since these ties may seem more significant to an individual. However, weak ties are equally as important in creating a diverse network. The article gives an example of how a weak tie, like a funny colleague in another department who always makes you laugh, can benefit you through boosting physical and psychological health.
Weak ties consist of acquaintances, such as Facebook friends, a gym buddy, someone at church or volunteer, etc. These hundreds of weak ties is “psychologically protective”, according to decades of research. Karen Fingerman, a professor of human development and family sciences at UT Austin suggests that it is inevitable to have only a few strong ties due to the time and effort one invests in keeping the strong tie, but weak ties tend to be much more in the hundreds. The social roles that these weak ties play in our lives are associated with better cognitive function, better mental and physical health, and a decreased risk of mortality in later life. Thus, the article emphasizes how people with high “social integration”, or those who participate in a diverse range of relationships with both strong and weak ties, tend to be happier and healthier.
The article also illustrates a new study recently published in the Health Psychology journal, which analyzed data from more than 4,000 people (aged 52-94) on whether high levels of social integration were associated with less age-related loss of lung function. The study surprisingly found that low-intimacy roles, like being a volunteer or a club member, were as equally effective in protecting lung function as high-intimacy ones, like a spouse or parent, which highlights the big impact a wide social network can make on one’s health.
Though psychological health is complex to measure when it comes to associating levels of happiness, this study of physical health and how weak networks often motivate people to engage in healthy behaviors, demonstrates not only why we have weak ties in our lives, but how it impacts us in a positive way.