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Importance of Social Connections for Health

The article discusses how spending time with friends is beneficial for health. It argues that (1) social health is important for overall well-being more than physical activity or sleep, (2) social support is strongly linked to better mental and physical health, and boosts the effects of exercise, and (3) social isolation is associated with higher rates of disease while social interaction lowers stress and improves health. The article supports these arguments with research studies and expert opinions published in reputable journals.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
22 views10 pages

Importance of Social Connections for Health

The article discusses how spending time with friends is beneficial for health. It argues that (1) social health is important for overall well-being more than physical activity or sleep, (2) social support is strongly linked to better mental and physical health, and boosts the effects of exercise, and (3) social isolation is associated with higher rates of disease while social interaction lowers stress and improves health. The article supports these arguments with research studies and expert opinions published in reputable journals.

Uploaded by

Norhyasimah
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

WRITTEN

ARTICLE ANALYSIS - SET 2


(PAIR ASSIGNMENT)

ENGLISH FOR CRITICAL ACADEMIC READING (ELC501)

TITLE:
“Why spending time with friends is one of the best things you can do
for your health”

NO. NAME ID MATRIX

1. NORHYASIMAH BINTI ABD MASRI 2022422842

2. SANISAH BINTI ENDAL 202254294

LECTURER NAME: MISS DELIA L. OLAYBAL


CRITERIA ANALYSIS

1. Issue Identify the issue in the text

The issue is about how important of robust social life can


improved our everyday life.

2. Author’s Identify the argument/author’s point of view in the text.


Argument

a. Social health is important to overall well being.


b. Social support strongly associated with better mental
and physical health.
c. Social isolation linked to higher rates of chronic diseases
and mental health condition.
d. Determine to use technology as a tools to seek
meaningful connections.

3. Types of support Recognize the types of supporting details in text as well as any
flaws in reasoning.

Argument 1: Social health is important to overall wellbeing.

On 2019 study published in the journal PLOS ONE, for


example, found that the strength of a person’s social circle—as
measured by inbound and outbound cell phone activity—was a
better predictor of self-reported stress, happiness, and well-
being levels than fitness tracker data on physical activity, heart
rate and sleep. That finding suggests that the “quantified self”
portrayed by endless amounts of health data does not tell the
whole story, says study co-author Nitesh Chawla, a professor of
computer science and engineering at the University of Notre
Dame. He also says that my lifestyle, my enjoyment, my social

network is a part of strong determinants of well-being. In plenty


of prior research also supporting Chawla’s theory showing that
social support is strongly associated with better mental and
physical health. Research has even show that a social
component can boost the effects of already healthy behaviours
such as exercise. (Research finding)

Argument 2: Social support is strongly associated with


better mental and physical health.

Chawla’s theory that supports plenty of prior research studies


have shown that social support -whether it is comes from
friends, family members or a spouse is strongly associated with
better mental and physical health. A robust social life, these
studies suggest, can lower stress levels, improve mood,
encourage positive health behaviours and discourage damaging
ones, boost cardiovascular health, improve illness recovery rates
and aid virtually everything in between. Research has even
found that a social component can boost the effect of already
healthy behaviours such as exercise. (Research finding)

Argument 3: Social isolation linked to higher rates of chronic


diseases and mental health condition.

Social isolation is linked to higher rates of chronic diseases and


mental health conditions, catalyse cellular-level changes that
promote chronic inflammation and suppress immunity. The
detrimental health effects of loneliness - likened to smoking 15
cigarettes a day. loneliness is emerging as a public health
epidemic in the U.S. According to recent surveys, almost half of
Americans, including large numbers of the country’s youngest
and oldest adults, are lonely.

A 2019 study conducted by health insurer Cigna and published


in the American Journal of Health Promotion set out to
determine what’s driving those high rates of loneliness. found
that social media, when used so much that it infringes on face-
to-face quality time, was tied to greater loneliness, while having
meaningful in-person interactions, reporting high levels of
social support and being in a committed relationship were
associated with less loneliness. Gender and income didn’t seem
to have a strong effect, but loneliness tended to decrease with
age, perhaps because of the wisdom and perspective afforded by
years of life lived, says Dr. Stuart Lustig, one of the report’s
authors and Cigna’s national medical executive for behavioural
health.

Argument 4: Determine to use technology as a tool to seek


meaningful connections.

Lusting emphasizes that social media should be used judiciously


and strategically, and not as a replacement for in-person
relationships. Instead, he says, we should use technology “to
seek out meaningful connections and people that you are going
to be able to keep in your social sphere. It’s easy enough to find
groups such as Meetups, or to find places to go where you’ll
find folks doing what you want to do.” That advice is
particularly important for young people, he says, for whom
heavy social media use is common. Finally, Lustig stresses that
even small social changes can have a large impact. Striking up
post-meeting conversations with co-workers, or even engaging
in micro-interactions with strangers, can make your social life
feel more rewarding.

Evaluate the supports used in the text:

i. Relevance and/or consistency


ii. Objectivity
iii. Completeness
iv. Validity and Credibility

Relevance of the support Do the supporting details given by the


author(s) support the topic/issue? Explain your answer with
Relevance evidence.
The support giving by author’s is relevant exist shows that the
strength of a person social circle is important to overall well-
being. This referred to the study from journal - PLOS ONE that
was publish on 2019 found that the social component can boost
the effect of already – healthy behaviour such as exercise.

Is the argument supported by facts? Explain your answer with


evidence.

Objectivity
The article is objective because the author uses studies finding

(e.g. Nitesh Chawla, a professor of computer science and


engineering at the University of Notre Dame.), a 2019 study
conducted by health insurer Cigna and published in the
American Journal of Health Promotion (Dr. Stuart Lustig one of
the report author and Cigna's national medical executive for
behavioural health)

Completeness
If the article is found to be credible, then it has sufficient
support.

Look for the opposing view and the counter argument.

Social isolation, meanwhile, is linked to higher rates of chronic


diseases and mental health conditions and may even catalyze
cellular-level changes that promote chronic inflammation and
suppress immunity. The detrimental health effects of loneliness
have been likened to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It’s a
significant problem, especially since loneliness is emerging as a
public health epidemic in the U.S. According to recent surveys,
almost half of Americans, including large numbers of the
country’s youngest and oldest adults, are lonely.

A 2019 study conducted by health insurer Cigna and published


in the American Journal of Health Promotion set out to
determine what’s driving those high rates of loneliness.
Unsurprisingly, it found that social media, when used so much
that it infringes on face-to-face quality time, was tied to greater
loneliness, while having meaningful in-person interactions,
reporting high levels of social support and being in a committed
relationship were associated with less loneliness. Gender and
income didn’t seem to have a strong effect, but loneliness
tended to decrease with age, perhaps because of the wisdom and
perspective afforded by years of life lived, says Dr. Stuart
Lustig, one of the report’s authors and Cigna’s national medical
executive for behavioural health.
Validity and Credibility

Is the argument relevant and objective? Look at what you have


answered earlier.

The arguments are well-reasoned since the evidences are


relevant and objective. Therefore, the argument is valid.
Is the argument supported by reliable and verifiable sources?

Convincing and believable? Give matching evidence.

The article is credible. The author has not only provided


evidence such as research findings, study and expert opinions;
adapted from articles provided that make them reliable and
verifiable such as in the paragraph 6.

4. Main Idea Identify the stated main ideas and/or formulate the implied main
ideas

Based on the article workout is not the main factor that


contribute to health/wellbeing but it is also implied with the
enjoyment such as happiness, stress free and social life circle.

5. Author’s purpose Determine an author’s purpose?

Based on the article author determine to give more awareness


on how important of having a good social life reflecting on
overall well being.
6. Author’s intended Determine an author’s intended audience?
audience.

The author’s intended audience based on the article was


generally for public for those who having unbalance lifestyles
especially social isolation and who heavy social media use in
common.

WRITTEN ARTICLE ANALYSIS

The article “Why spending time with friends is one of the best things you can do for your health”
written by Jamie Ducharme on June 25, 2019, has bring an issue about how important social
robust life can improved our everyday life and health. The article was meant generally for public
why they need to hang out and spend more time with the others and by doing it so it can also
reflect much to their health. Furthermore, the author claims that in order to improve health, we
cannot just focusing on physical health.

To bring this issue the authors made some point of view or argument that come up with several
types of support. first is, according to study that was published in the journal PLOS ONE says
that social circle strength is a better predictor of self-reported stress, happiness and well-being
than fitness tracker data, study co-author Nitesh Chawla (professor of computer science and
engineering at the University of Notre Dame). the author also argue that loneliness is a major
public health issue in the US, with almost half of Americans being lonely. Social isolation is
linked to higher rates of chronic diseases and mental health conditions and may even catalyze
cellular-level Gender and income did not seem to have a strong effect, but loneliness tended to
decrease with age. Reviving a dormant social life can be done by finding partners for enjoyable
activities like exercising, volunteering, or sharing a meal. Changes that promote chronic
inflammation and suppress immunity. A 2019 study conducted by health insurer Cigna found
that social media was linked to greater loneliness, while having meaningful in-person
interactions, reporting high levels of social support and being in a committed relationship were
associated with less loneliness. Finally, the author last argument emphasized that Social media
should be used strategically to seek out meaningful connections and people, especially for young
people and determine to use the technology as a tools to seek meaningful connections and
stresses that even a small social changes can have a big impact on social life.

According to the argument above, it shows that the authors is relevant exist shows that the
strength of a person social life circle is important overall wellbeing. This referred to the study
journal that was publish in 2019 found that social component can boost the effect of already
healthy behavior such as exercise. Furthermore, the article is objective because the authors use
studies finding such as in the paragraph II Nitesh Chawla a professor of computer science and
engineering, university of Notre Dame says that lifestyle, enjoyment and social network are
strong dominants of wellbeing and a 2019 study that was conducted by health insurer Cigna and
published in the American journal of health promotion by Dr. Stuart Lustig which stated in
paragraph v. the article is complete where the authors also include opposing view and counter
argument which says that social media when used to much it will infringes on face-to-face
quality time. The argument are well reasoned since the evidence are relevant and objective
therefore, the argument is valid. The article is credible because the author not only provided
evidence such as research finding, study and expert opinions adapted from the articles provided
that make them reliable and verifiable as we can see in the paragraph IV, V and VI.

Based on the article the author main idea is to tell the readers that workout is not the main factor
that contribute to health and well-being, but it is also implied with enjoyment such as happiness,
stress free and social life circle. The author purpose is to determine awareness on how important
of having social life reflecting on overall well-being. Lastly, the author’s intended audience was
generally for public those who having unbalance lifestyles especially social isolation and who
heavy social media use in common.

(696 words)

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