Daniel Aldrich in Prevention Web: Cultivating social ties in the age of physical distancing

As I write this, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 1,400,000 people and killed 75,000 across the world. While many governments are seeking to contain the outbreak, too much discussion of COVID19 has ignored the importance of social ties.  There is growing evidence that our bonding, bridging, and linking social ties impact our lives, resilience and exposure tremendously. Bonding ties connect people who are quite similar in terms of religion, ethnicity, race, and other characteristics. Bridging ties bring people of different types together – through an institution like a workplace, school, or club. Finally, where bonding and bridging social ties are horizontal, linking social ties connect us to people in power and authority. We’re not paying enough attention to these ties as we settle in for a long battle with COVID19.

Read the full article here.