A recent investigation into hundreds of studies from as early as the 1950s has linked psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression, to a lack of feeling connected to others. This link between a feeling of social unity and mental health is particularly pressing today, when mental illnesses have reached an all time high is today’s society– a serious concern for our society. The case for the importance of happiness is not hard to accept. The mental stability of a society is related to the productivity, effectiveness, social capital and safety of any nation. To advance in the modern world, perhaps the answer then is to look inward.

What often keeps me happy is my group of friends. I know that no matter what, I have a community of people who care and think highly of me. If I make a fool of myself during an important presentation or spill a drink on myself alone in public, I know I can laugh it all off in the comfort of my friends. For anyone’s mental health, this community is important. For me, it might be a group of friends. For others, it may be family, a sports team, club or community group. Wherever one finds this sense of stability and security, it is vital that such a support system exists.

These communities provide more than just support. They give guidance. When faced with a difficult decision the first thing I do is consult my friends. This guidance cannot be underemphasized. What my friends give me is not just advice on what classes to take or what outfit to wear to an important meeting, but serve as a moral compass. As close friends, we all have a similar sense of values. We know each other well and will keep each other in check when one of us isn’t acting like themselves. When a friend of ours started smoking and slacking off in school, we all said, “What are you doing? This isn’t who you are.” Sure enough, she soon ended her experiment in teenage rebellion.

But what if we hadn’t been there? Or what if we, as a group of friends, had encouraged and supported such harmful behavior? Significantly, social cohesion, which can clearly lead to happiness and a sense of connectedness, has the ability to shape values. However, what these values are, are up to the community. The authors of the report, Hardwired to Connect, called these support groups, authoritative communities. The results of their study showed that people are “hardwired for close connections to others and for moral and spiritual meaning.” To address the increasing psychological problems faced by our society today, they show that we ought to strengthen these authoritative communities.

Clearly, authoritative communities ought to be supported through policy and grassroots initiatives. But what kinds of communities are we going to support? Herein lies the challenge. Some groups, like street gangs provide their members with a strong sense of connection. But they do not provide moral and spiritual meaning to their members (although to the members the actions they take may very well appear moral). The study, Hardwired to Connect, demonstrates the importance of a sense of community. But the implications of this reemphasize the significance of character education and understanding the unity of mankind within these communities.

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