People are social beings that are interdependent, they are used to relying on others for their own well-being. To be a happy person, you need to love and be loved. We must belong not only to ourselves, but also to someone else. The worst form of punishment in our society is solitary confinement.
People who have been in solitary confinement for a long time receive psychological trauma that can cause hallucinations, panic attacks, paranoia, increased heart rate, hypersensitivity to external stimuli and cognitive impairment. While few people do this well, most people cannot overcome loneliness for a long period of time.
The concept of social well-being
This term means, first of all, the degree to which you feel a sense of belonging to society and social integration. Lifestyle, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs are important for our social well-being and quality of life. With so many diverse cultures in our midst, there are great opportunities to participate in groups, programs or cross-cultural events. A sense of unity with one’s own culture can be very useful for social well-being; an opportunity is provided to enjoy the art of one’s native environment, culture and traditions.
In addition to the positive impact on well-being, social contacts can help build a career, as well as to improve the quality of personal creativity and self-expression. Participation in various cultural events within the community is not only useful for the health and happiness of a single person, but also for the social well-being of the population as a whole. That is why the preservation of culture, traditions and other spaces for communication between people is an important task.
Intellectual component
Factors of social intelligence, including emotional intelligence, morality, upbringing, empathy, adaptability and altruism, are important for improving social well-being. Social welfare is also associated with such things as freedom, trust and equal rights.
Social health concept
It is statistically proven that people with good social connections are generally healthier and live longer than those who do not.
Social health comes from regular, positive social contacts with family, friends, and neighbors. Membership and social contacts can also arise through participation in sports clubs, community groups, volunteer organizations, churches, political parties, clubs for people with special interests, hobbies and more. Schools, gyms, swimming pools, libraries and social events (such as fairs and markets) provide opportunities for expanding social contacts. In addition, local restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and clubs are places to meet other people, and visiting them also positively affects our social well-being.
In the book, “Losing Happiness in Market Democracies, ” Robert E. Lane, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Yale University, found that most of the research on social capital over the past few years shows that social connections not only affect our personal well-being, but and social success. He notes that as social wealth increases, social solidarity decreases. Happiness is not only declining, people are becoming more distrustful, not only in relation to each other, but also in relation to their political institutions. Lane argues that we must change our priorities - to increase the level of social contacts and communication, even with the risk of lowering our income.
Social status
Our role and status in society also play an important role for social well-being. Status is a fundamental need, but real status does not come from what you have, but from what you do. In the materialistic and consumer worlds, we often judge a person’s status by what he has. But people can acquire wealth in dysfunctional, destructive, immoral, and even criminal ways.
Status Anxiety
Status is a natural human need. The problem is that the nature of the status has changed as society changes. Before the capitalist revolution, people were born with a status that was assigned to them for life. If you were a member of the royal family, you would remain them, and so on. There have always been exceptions to this rule, but their number has remained steadily small.
The concept of “social well-being” also characterizes the presence of a certain status that would satisfy a person’s self-esteem. Today we live in a much more egalitarian society than ever in history. People who find themselves in conditions of capitalist democracy are free to “do good” at their discretion. One of the problems is that there are too many people who are able to take possession of a lot of material wealth.
Therefore, our society is subject to a feeling of envy and rivalry. Human nature seeks to compete and dominate, especially with people close to us - family, friends, neighbors and colleagues. From an evolutionary point of view, this is good, because in this way the survival of the fittest was ensured. But in the modern world, such instincts adversely affect the socio-economic well-being of the whole society.
Status Labels
Nowadays, people are prone to excess consumption. Big houses, sports cars, designer brands and endless pairs of new shoes tell the world that you have “done good.”
However, the creation and availability of material goods does not mean real status. It is indicated only by what you do, and not what you have. People can become rich by doing worthy things, and people become rich by doing destructive, sometimes criminal, things. Drug dealers, pedophiles and bad parents can have expensive foreign cars and designer shoes. Even if you feel good on a personal level, your social well-being may still be in doubt.
Factors harmful to social well-being
Violent conflict can create humanitarian crises and cause enormous damage to civilians. These crises are associated with a lack of water, food and shelter. The large-scale displacement of the population and the lack of critical health services, among many other problems created by them, also undermine the social well-being of young people.
As families struggle to survive during and after a violent conflict, the social fabric of society can be completely torn apart, plunging the country into the abyss of civil war. Disputes about land, water, crops, pasture rights, marriage, inheritance and other problems between people and within the community usually arise in disadvantaged countries and begin to threaten the whole world.
Schools may be closed or destroyed. Children may have missed school years, and many may be denied entry to primary school. Infrastructure of important social services can be destroyed, ports, roads and basic utilities will suffer. All studies of social well-being show that such problems begin with "trifles" - with a low level of solidarity, a material gap between different layers of society, cultural, political and economic decline. More and more political scientists, philosophers and sociologists are calling on the powers that be to reflect on the fundamental problems that are at the root of all world catastrophes and social explosions.
The cure for civil war
The rulers of states should take care not only of high-quality bureaucratic institutions, but also of creating strong social ties - both within society itself and with the rest of the world. Communication with the whole world insures the country that has suffered from the negative consequences of low social well-being.
Immediately after a violent conflict (if it still has not been avoided), international assistance may be needed to meet the basic needs of the population, address issues of return and resettlement for refugees and internally displaced persons, and promote development and reconciliation at the individual community level. Since the host country may not be able to resolve these problems on its own.
