It’s Ok To Talk To Strangers – A New Take On Some Old Advice
Want to be happier? Say “hello” to someone you don’t know at least once a week
and you will be happier for it according to a new national survey.
TORONTO – People who greet strangers at least once weekly were three times more likely to be happy than those who did not according to a new survey conducted by The GenWell Project in partnership with the University of Victoria. The Canadian Social Connection Survey is a nationwide survey about human connectedness in the time of COVID-19 and the post-pandemic period that provides a number of insights to help better understand the importance of social connections to overcome pandemic-related loneliness, anxieties and burnout.
“For decades, we have been told not to talk to strangers, and for young kids that’s some safe advice. As we get older and a little more worldly though, the positive effects of connecting with those we don’t know can be pretty powerful – both for you and the person you’re talking to,” said Pete Bombaci, founder of The GenWell Project. “More than ever we are craving human connection and the positive impact a simple hello or nod of the head on our health and happiness, shouldn’t be underestimated.
The finding about the positive impact from greeting strangers is just one many from the Canadian Social Connection Survey which was conducted with the assistance of 3,800 participants from across Canada from April 27 to June 1, 2021. Other interesting points include:
- 60 per cent of participants reported feeling lonely many times a week.
- Almost half (46 per cent) report that they felt lonely every day.
- The rate of loneliness across all generations is above 45 per cent.
- Over 90 per cent of Canadians indicating that they want to spend at least an hour with their friends and family.
- 75 per cent indicated they wanted to spend at least an hour with their coworkers
and neighbours in a week.
The goal of The GenWell Project is to educate Canadians on the key insights about the importance of social connection to our health, happiness and longevity, as well as many other benefits. Most of us have never been educated on the facts about human connection and surveys like the Canadian Social Connection Survey, clearly suggest that establishing or re-establishing social connections can lead to better overall life satisfaction and happiness.
The GenWell Project has been educating, empowering and catalyzing Canadians to, proactively, build healthier connection habits since 2016, to improve mental, physical and social health. The GenWell Project sees this data as a call to action for Canadians to not only build new connections but to also re-ignite the connections that were adversely impacted over the course of the pandemic – for their own health or for the health of others.
Over the course of the next few weeks, The GenWell Project will release additional findings from the Canadian Social Connection Survey.
To find out more information about the survey results and stay up to date on our latest news and connection tips, please sign-up for our newsletter at www.genwellproject.org and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.