Importance of Friendship
| February 2019 | Real Hero Report
Fox On Point by Vance Rosen
A Simple Gesture
It is amazing and unbelievable that in this era of social media frenzy,
the AARP Foundation study found that one third of Americans over
the age of 45 are lonely. Second, in an article in USA Today headlined
“Depression and Teens: Are Devices to Blame?” (USA Today, December
17, 2018), the article reported that a mental health crisis in this age
group could be exacerbated by a “sense of disconnection” which to me is
another way of saying loneliness. “Students are so connected online but
disconnected offline, having thousands of friends on social media while
struggling to make friends in real life.” Add in the online bullying that
goes on and the “say any ugly thing you want in as nasty and hurtful way
as possible on social media” and we have a witch’s brew for an epidemic
of loneliness!!
About the time I read the two articles outlined above, I ran across
something on Guidepost’s email no less. It was entitled, “Want to live
longer? Focus on relationships: Why having a social life may be the best
thing you can do for your health.” As the article outlines, “A slew of recent
studies have found that meaningful relationships are significant to long
term health” and I’d add short-term health, as well.
And now the evidence presented:
1. Social ties decrease stress: As it was reported in PLOS (Public
Library of Science) Medicine, strong social ties “resulted in lower stress
and people lived on average 7.5 years longer than those without these
support networks.”
2. Close relationships increase longevity: An Australian study found
“close friendships” resulted in 50% longevity increase with a correlation
that was only true in deep relationships.
3. Church attendance lowers mortality: A Vanderbilt University study
discovered regular church attendance resulted in a 55% lower mortality
rate. Ohio State research “suggested people who attended church lived
nine years longer” than non-attenders.
4. Friendships are crucial for long-term health: And here is the
eye opener: research published by Personal Relationships Journal
emphasized “that friendships were more important than relationships
with spouses or children.”
William Chopik, an assistant professor at Michigan State University
who was the lead author in two of the cited journal articles in the
Personal Relationships Journal believes the benefits of friendship may
increase exponentially with age. “You have kept those people around
because they have made you happy, or at least contributed to your
well-being in some way,” Chopik told Time. “Across our lives we let the
superficial friendships fade and we’re left with the really influential ones.”
I realize that for first responders, military and others whose lives can
be so transient and unpredictable and at times filled with the ugliness of
the world, it is important to remember to keep your social (not media) and
spiritual networks intact and ever-growing or deepening. Remember that
as Jesus physically grew, he grew “in wisdom and in stature and in favor
with God and with all the people.” (Luke 2:52)
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