Take Charge of Your Health - Social Contagion: A Blessing and A Curse
Social contagion is the spread of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
from person to person and among larger groups
as affected by shared information and mimicry.
-Paul M. Kirsch
The Influence of Social Contagion and Technology on Epidemic Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
We all know that the flu is contagious, but did you know that there are many other types of contagions around us? Ever notice how when someone around you yawns, you do as well?
Social contagions have been responsible for everything from fits of laughter among girls at a school in Africa who carried the contagion to their far-flung home villages, to the swath of high school suicides in Palo Alto, CA and is a contributor to our national obesity crisis. It is one of the reasons why information about mass murder and injuries are kept to a minimum: no one wants to encourage copycat moves. Publicizing dangerous activities can serve as a trigger to a susceptible or suggestible person to follow the example of another.
Lee Daniel Kravetz, author of the book Strange Contagion, explains that, “…we have all seen social contagions at work in our lives: we need only look at stock market sentiment to know that greed is communicable, or count the number of campus shootings to watch violence spread. Personal drive, happiness – even our innate senses of generosity, courage, and work ethic – are as transmissible to others as the flu. Researchers from Yale University to the Department of Defense and the Pentagon have invested millions to understand and channel this science, because social contagions covertly impact all elements of our lives, from memories to moods, and often do so beneath the surface of our awareness.”
Currently, there is a renewed interest in the science of social contagions. Fortunately, it's not all bad news. Scientists have found that even one kind act can begin a new social contagion. The effect can be seen not only by the person doing the kind act and the person who receives it, but also by its witnesses as well. Studies have shown each party experiences a motivation to “pay it forward,” which then positively effects even more people.
Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education studies these effects among others. Findings from their research indicate that when patients receive kind treatment from the medical staff, they have less pain, less anxiety and stay in the hospital for shorter periods. Further, doctors and nurses feel more energized and less exhausted. The vision advanced by the Center is a world where: the practice of compassion is understood to be as important for health as physical exercise and a healthy diet; empirically validated techniques for cultivating compassion are accessible to all; and, the practice of compassion is taught and applied in all community settings.
Given what we know about social contagion, the questions posed by Rabbi Hillel centuries ago, ring true today. If not me, who? If not now, when? It is a positive contribution each of us can make to advance our health as well as those around us.
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