The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Melissa McCarthy was on The Daily Show last night. Her segment ended with the actress-comedian encouraging viewers to connect with others, in person, whenever we can. Whether we’re walking on the street, in a bus or subway, McCarthy says we shouldn’t just be looking at our phones.
“No one’s looking at each other. Look up and actually see people. Everybody needs to be seen, even for a second. To feel: ‘I am here. Somebody sees me.’ We have to connect with people.”
McCarthy is not the only one suggesting that online relationships can’t replace in-person connections. A Washington Post feature just this week highlighted how people are “hyperconnected but disconnected.” For one thing, we’re entertaining less, it says, and people are feeling alone.
Too Much Alone Time
The Post feature continues: “research demonstrates that loneliness is as physically dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, it contributes to cognitive decline” and “we’re literally dying of despair.”
Putting Down the Cellphone
“At Best Hot Tubs, we have long realized that the spas we sell are great for physical therapy,” says Bill Renter. “But we’re noticing more and more that one’s home spa, because it’s such a great place to connect with others, can be just as healing for the soul.”
Bill says he uses his hot tub daily as a place for quiet mental rejuvenation, which he highly recommends. But his home hot tub has also traditionally been a place for connecting in-person with family and friends.
“We’re happy when our clients also find that their spa encourages entertaining, as well as more quiet personal connections — where for a few hours telephone calls, texts, social media postings, etc. get temporarily put aside for catching up with friends.”
Socialization Means Higher Quality of Life:
One recent study says “research has shown that those who have strong social networks (the in-person kind)… seem to have a higher quality of life, live longer and are healthier.”
The study also says that this quality of life is also important for those in retirement where socialization “plays a large role in maintaining quality of life and protects against cognitive decline..”
A Spa is Great for Conversation:
A spa, like the Bullfrog Spa pictured here, shuts out surrounding noises and relaxes, encouraging the catching up to happen.
Men Like Catching Up, Too:
Catching up with friends isn’t the purview of females, of course. While the topics of conversation in some cases will vary, men need time to catch up with their friends, just as much as women.
Take Time to ‘Look Up:’
The point, as McCarthy says, is to “look up” and let others know you see them — whether at work, in a hot tub, around a fire pit, on the street, or at a kitchen table. In addition to being good for your own well being, you never know how much another will be uplifted.
