Last night, I witnessed the infectious way good news can spread within a network of friends – improving everyone’s well-being. The theory that social networks and connections affect individuals and populations is not necessarily new, but has begun to make it big in discussions of health. It is being used to examine many aspects of health from eating habits to infectious disease. As social beings, humans are easily influenced and transformed by those around them. Our networks literally allow ideas, actions, habits, and beliefs to spread, in the same way a pathogen moves from one organism to another. Two areas where this “networking” theory could provide amazing breakthroughs are obesity and AIDS.
In their book Connected, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explore how social networks shape our lives. One of their arguments is that these social connections can literally shape our lives by affecting what we eat, when we eat, how we eat, how we exercise, and our views on body size and image. These types of influences can have both positive and negative impacts on our bodies. Christakis gave a TED Talk earlier this month on the spread of obesity through networks, and Fowler has made an appearance on the Colbert Report explaining how even our connections through social networking sites affect our health. Most simply, if those you are connected to are obese, you are more likely to be obese. If those around you exercise regularly, you are more likely to exercise. And if your friends have body image ideals that are unhealthy, you are more apt to as well. We all know obesity is a hot topic in the United States, Mrs. Obama’s determined goal to put an end to childhood obesity has been in the news as of late. Changing the way we eat and approach food will have to come as a cultural shift, and shifts of this magnitude come from infecting a network with a new “habitus” of food.
The infectious character of HIV/AIDS does not come only in the form of bodily fluids passed from one individual to another, but in the social environments in which it spreads. Yes, effective prevention programs and stronger health infrastructures on the continent of Africa and in countries like Haiti will help to stop the disease. The environments in which AIDS spreads, however, are complex social networks with deep cultural and ecologic roots. In a post earlier this week, I discussed the strong stigmas in many African societies surrounding AIDS, stigmas which in many cases are perpetuating its spread. By effectively shifting the thought process of several individuals – in a way that blends with the local fabric of life and understanding – whole social networks can begin to change their beliefs and behaviors, as well as the structural barriers which force individuals to choose certain actions over others. Organizations such as the Organic Health Response (in Kenya) and The Global Micro-Clinic Project (in several developing countries) are working to improve health outcomes through social solidarity – stopping the spread of infection at the social level.
The strength of social networks is evident even at the Olympics. As these games come to an end, we have witnessed the communal admiration, triumph, and pride one person and one event can create. This theory, the impact social networks have on our health, can and should be applied to everything from maternal mortality (birthing practices, nutrition, and cultural capital) to health care reform (how we pay for it and who gets coverage). Good news can spread among friends in the blink of an eye and the strength of our very human, and very powerful, social networks can affect our individual and collective well-being without us even noticing…an idea we should spread!
*Image is author’s own.
