So what’s the secret to being happy and healthy and living long, productive lives? Psychologist, journalist, and author Susan Pinker says it’s “the village effect.” That’s the term she uses to describe the personal, face-to-face connections that help us survive and thrive.

Pinker explored her theory in a keynote presentation at the recent EFA Expo & Conference that took place April 8-10 in Salt Lake City.

How she discovered this started with the realization that females live longer than men, by an average of 15 years—“that’s a huge gap,” she said. And one notable character trait of women when compared to men is the propensity to prioritize and groom social relationships across their lifetimes. However, there is at least one place in the world where men live just as long as women: Sardinia, Italy.

Sardinia’s claim to fame is its presence on the list of Blue Zones, regions of the world where people live longer than average. There, Pinker traveled to Villagrande Strisaili, a town so dense that you can’t go anywhere without meeting someone on the way, she said—it’s very makeup contributing to its social success and, subsequently, resident longevity.


She also discovered social bonds there that celebrate caring for loved ones as they age. In fact, providing support to the village’s centenarians is viewed as a privilege by younger generations, with everyone from relatives to neighbors to priests chipping in to visit with and assist seniors in their daily lives. “These people are never alone,” Pinker said.

But it isn’t just familial bonds that help keep us going. Researchers out of Brigham Young University studied what reduces the chances of death the most, finding that clean air and treating blood pressure were actually on the low end, flu vaccinations and not drinking alcohol were mid-range, and the quality and number of close relationships as well as social integration were actually at the top of the scales, Pinker said.

And it’s that latter point that she stressed: Weaker bonds that round out our social integration, such as walking the dog and talking to neighbors or playing cards with a regular group, are each critical components of our social lives. So if many of those casual relationships exist online today, what does that mean for our longevity?

Pinker said research shows it’s not great. In-person interactions, specifically, help reduce stress, improve blood pressure, and so on. From a hug to a high-five, even the smallest gestures of contact produce amounts of dopamine in us that simply make us happy. “We feel good. All of this passes under our conscious radar,” she said. And evidence suggests that hitting the “Like” button on Facebook just isn’t the same.

But, still, technology may play a role in combating isolation in the future. Pinker said some solutions exist—for example, social robots show promise. However, she’s focused on ways that we as a society, as well as this design industry, can better encourage in-person social interactions.

For example, she said, environments should be mindful of hearing loss and how sound is transmitted, reducing ambient noise so that seniors can better hear and communicate with one another.

Additionally, “third spaces,” or those between home and work, offer areas for people to gather naturally (think picnic areas or tables and chairs in a park). “We pay a high price when we build communities that don’t pay attention to them,” she said.

And when it comes to senior living, specifically, Pinker said it’s critical to ask residents what types of spaces they’d like to have available, as well. “What do they need? What do they want? It’s very important to ask them.”

Pinker closed with a photo of a meeting area in Villagrande Strisaili, where well-worn couches were positioned in a nondescript outdoor courtyard, a place where residents frequently gather despite its simplicity. She then offered a final piece of advice: A third space doesn’t have to be new or expensive—“but it does have to be populated.”

In an age where we’re all isolated between work and personal lives that largely exist via technology, she argued that it’s time to recognize the tangible benefits of face-to-face interaction and start building our own villages.