To be clear, there is a distinction between social health and socialized health. I want to discuss the former in this post as the country argues over the latter. Fair? So healthcare companies like Cigna and WellPoint are doing innovative things in the realm of health and social technologies, and we’re definitely doing our fair share of exploring this new frontier at Humana.
We all have tools at our disposal that enable us to connect to one another quickly and easily, but they are just tools. Our question at Crumple it Up has become: how do we create a health epidemic focused on life and happiness? What can serve as the catalyst?
In my opinion, one catalyst will be social health with social technologies used as an enabler.
Active lifestyles lead to healthy hearts and minds, and one way that makes leading an active lifestyle enjoyable is to share the experiences with friends and family members. It stands to reason that if two people enjoy doing an activity by themselves, sharing that experience with one another will enhance the overall experience and make them both want to perform the activity together more often.
To connect social with activity is to also connect social with health.
From my own personal anecdotal archives, I remember while growing up that my mother used to walk around the neighborhood with friends and neighbors far more frequently then she would by herself. That time served two purposes:
1. It was a time for her to catch up on the local gossip
2. It was good for her.
She would coordinate her walks with friends because she knew it was good for her, but she would follow through because she had someone to do it with… When I left the house and went off to college, I refused to miss my standard daily workouts with friends at the fitness center for similar reasons.
In both cases, the chance to be social outweighed the need to be healthy. However, in both cases the activity generated from being social directly led to healthy behavior.
I want to explore this concept further on Crumple it Up, but would like to stop here to find out what you think? Is there a tie between social and health or am I off my rocker? What is your evidence, anecdotal or otherwise?
Photo by: discoodoni
Popularity: 3% [?]
DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
