388. Civic Engagement

​Emily Amick shares her solution to the loneliness epidemic: getting involved in your local community.

Sami Sage and Emily Amick are authors of the book Democracy In Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives. They are our guest hosts for It’s Going To Be Okay this week.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

Emily Amick: This is Emily Amick, aka Emily in your phone, and it’s going to be okay. Back again with another lesson from my book, Democracy in Retrograde, how to make changes big and small in our country and our lives. Today we’re going to speak about a topic that’s extremely meaningful to me, which is how broad civic and community engagement is the cure to the loneliness epidemic.

In case you haven’t heard the news, we officially have a loneliness epidemic in this country, which according to the Surgeon General affects about half of U. S. adults. There are tangible personal consequences to this, including a 29 percent increased risk of heart disease, a 32 percent increased risk of stroke, and a 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia for older adults.

I believe that civic engagement might just be the cure. Getting involved in your community can boost your mental health by giving you a sense of purpose and connection. Studies show that people who participate in community activities report higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress. When you participate in political action rooted in your values, you connect with people on an even higher level than shared activities or interests.

Though, those are, those are great too, of course. Like, who doesn’t, who doesn’t love a backgammon club or a running club? Joining community groups or volunteering fosters Joining community groups or volunteering fosters a sense of belonging, crucial for emotional and mental health. Our book, Democracy in Retrograde, includes a story from a woman we interviewed named Jessica, who found new joy in companionship by volunteering.

Even though she had initially joined to give back to her community, she found lifelong friends among her fellow volunteers. By connecting with friends and peers regularly, you enrich your life and help create a stronger, more supportive community. Um, I have recently been going through cancer treatment, and people did show up for me, but they weren’t my neighbors, they weren’t my college friends, they weren’t my distant cousins.

They were the people I met through civic engagement. I post on the internet about politics a lot, and through that, I’ve post built a community of people who share my values, who care about me, who care about my interests. And who have this really deep connection with me. The thing is, while all these people are folks that I originally met online, there were relationships I’ve moved off of it.

That’s actually how Sammy and I met and eventually decided to write Democracy in Retrograde. These friends I’ve made in group chats, we go to events, we meet each other, significant others, we talk about politics. via text incessantly.  So while social media can often scratch the itch of social connection in our brains, it doesn’t replace the benefits of genuine in person friends and connections.

There is one reason that despite the fact that we’re all connecting, connecting with hundreds of people online daily, so many of us feel lonelier than ever.  The digital era has created a fascinating paradox. We experience more connectivity than our brains can handle, yet feel lonelier than ever. British anthropologist Robert Dunbar has posited that our brains can only handle 150 relationships, a number far exceeded by a nightly scroll on Instagram.

The result is that people have many online connections, but the real ties, the ones that improve our quality of life, are fewer than ever. The loneliness epidemic is a public health crisis, and its correlation with our fracturing communities gets at the very heart of what it means to have a happy life.

Being cared for and caring for other people. For me, the cure to the loneliness, for me, the cure to the loneliness epidemic wasn’t found at the pickleball court or at a running club. Not to say it couldn’t be, but for me, it was found in a community of people who care about the same things that I do. And when I was down, they cared about me.

In tomorrow’s episode, Sammy will be back to talk about how small actions are the key to big changes.