Social Connection

Transitions, like starting college, moving away, and living with new people, are often associated with worry, emotional turmoil and loneliness. Students with strong social connections experience a greater sense of belonging and report better emotional adjustment, academic adjustment, and academic persistence. 

What is Social Connection? 

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” WHO Commission on Social Connection published a report in 2025 examining the nature and impact of social disconnection and identified strategies to strengthen social connection and improve societal health and well-being.  

Social Connection describes how people relate and interact within 3 dimensions:  

1. Structure – # of relationships, type of relationship, frequency of interactions, and length of interactions 
2. Function – type and amount of support exchanged 
3. Quality – whether interactions are negative (strained, conflictual, judgmental, overprotective, violent) or positive (loving, intimate, satisfying, trusting) 

Strong Social Connection provides: 

• Increased sense of purpose 

• Increased sense of community and community development 

• Increased school performance and retention 

• Increased employment, retention, and earning 

• Decreased loneliness 

Dine on Do Not Disturb 

Put down your phone and pick up a conversation on select evenings in Danforth Dining Hall (check out upcoming events or CCC page for details). This program is a collaboration between Health Promotion, URochester Hospitality, and Residential Life’s First Year Residential Experience (FYRE). The program encourages students to put away their phones and engage in meaningful, face-to-face conversations using prompts such as Would You Rather, Hot Takes, Silly Suggestions, and other guided conversation starters. 

The primary objective is to increase positive social connections and students’ confidence in engaging with peers, while also helping students reflect on their smartphone use and its impact on interpersonal connection. 

Social Connection & Smartphone Use 

People often turn to phone use anticipating that engaging with new or unfamiliar people may feel awkward or uncomfortable. Phone use, in contrast, is easy and habitual. 

Phone use can detract from social connection in two key ways (Dwyer et al., 2023): 

1. Phone use acts as a distraction from in-person connection 
2. Phone use reduces the likelihood of starting a conversation 

Screentime Challenge 

Even a small decrease in smartphone use can improve in person social interactions by creating more opportunities for connection and deeper connections. 

Identify current behaviors: 

• Make an effort to notice when and why you reach for your phone 

• Check you daily and weekly screentime. What app do you spend the most time on? 

Introduce alternatives: 

• Can you decrease your weekly screentime by 10 minutes? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 

• Try a new habit or hobby when you feel like scrolling