15 August 2020 | New Scientist | 33“social capital” built up over years.
He suspected that social bonds might
start to evaporate. “What I miss is when you
walk into a physical meeting, you are talking
to the person that is next to you, you’re able
to connect with them for the two minutes
before and after,” he said.
As many of us continue to work remotely,
the long-term effects of social distancing
could be serious. What can science tell us
about social capital and its resilience?
And how can we mitigate any ill effects?
First, some definitions. When people like
Nadella talk about social capital, they are
describing “the various connections that an
individual might have that provide them
with some kind of resource”, says Vanessa
Parks at the University of Mississippi. For
sociologists and psychologists, this can
include emotional support, important
information learned through the grapevine
or practical help, such as a lift to the hospital
or cooperation at work. Having high social
capital isn’t just a matter of being popular
and well-liked, though. As well as having a
dense web of connections that includes close >
friends and more distant acquaintances,
people with more social capital tend to be
more engaged in building their community.
There are various ways to measure social
capital. Scientists may ask people to estimate
the number and strength of the links in
their social network, count their direct
participation in community events or use
questionnaires that examine their general
feeling of trust in the people around them.
Over the past 20 years, a wealth of studies
have confirmed that social capital makes a
huge difference to our quality of life. People
with high social capital may both perform
better at work and find it easier to land a new
job, for instance, thanks to the greater
possibility of constructive collaborations.
Social capital can also soothe our stresses
and help us live more healthily, leading to
a lower risk of mental illness and physical
disease, and a longer lifespan. One famous
meta-analysis, by Julianne Holt-Lunstad at
Brigham Young University in Utah, found
that a lack of social connection presents
as large a risk to our health as obesity
or smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.“ A wealth of
studies have
shown that high
‘social capital’
enhances our
quality of life”