Social Connection as Health Behavior

Loneliness and social isolation are growing public health concerns, and evidence is accumulating for the substantial toll that they take on population health. In this talk, I will present data on how loneliness affects cardiovascular health, describe patterns of cognition and behavior that perpetuate chronic loneliness, and discuss promising interventions to increase social connection. Specifically, I argue for viewing social connection as a health behavior, and I make the case for adapting established principles of health behavior change for the design of effective, scalable interventions to mitigate loneliness and promote social connection.