Connectedness Games

We Thrive on Connection

Our need for connecting with others, or belonging, is as important as our other basic needs. Connectedness is a basic human need.

• In Turkey, at a 9,000 year old site called Göbekli Tepe, our ancient ancestors used mammoth bones to construct large circular buildings. These ancient structures are arguably "the first human-built holy place." [1]
• In what is now present-day India and Pakistan, 40,000 - 50,000 people lived together in settlements around 9,000 years ago.
• In Egypt, over 100,000 men worked to assemble the pyramids of Giza nearly 5,000 years ago.
• In China, early civilizations built walls to protect themselves in what eventually became the Great Wall of China over 2,000 years ago.

⭐ Although these civilizations were separated by time and geography, they all had one thing in common: They all recognized that people and communities thrive through connections to one another.

Maslow's Hierarchy

We have other basic needs too. Obvious needs include air, food, shelter, and water. Those other needs are probably easier to recognize, especially when we are younger. After all, it doesn't take long to realize that you are hungry or thirsty. And it takes even less time to know when you must take another breath. Although our basic needs have been discussed and recognized for many, many years, it was a paper written by psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943 that provided a modern-day codification of those needs.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory that seeks to explain and explore human motivation. Presented as a pyramid, the lower levels represent more basic needs. Although this hierarchy has been revised over time, its basic premise is still taught and applied in some fashion in many academic disciplines.

Going Beyond the Basics

Although we are quick to recognize when some of our needs are not met, not all impacts are so obvious. For example, if we lack sufficient shelter, it quickly becomes clear that we are not very well protected from the elements. And without reliable shelter we also might lack the ability to keep ourselves safe or to secure our food and belongings. Similarly, as any parent of a newborn baby can tell you, infants can easily recognize that they are hungry from a very early age.

But as we move up the levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the impact on us when we lack those needs might not be as clear to us. If you look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs you can see the third level is "belonging and love" and this is the level where we would find connectedness - or what is often referred to as social connectedness.

What is the impact if we lack social connectedness?

While we know that connectedness is important for all people, regardless of age, we also know that connectedness is especially important for young people. The impact on children and adolescents who lack connectedness can be significant. For example, young people between the ages of 12-17 years who report they are well-connected at home or school are 66% less likely to experience health risk behaviors associated with violence, sexual health, and substance use.[2] Also, positive peer connections for young people are associated with wellbeing [3] and with school connectedness. [4]

Footnotes