Jon Levy — Community, Connection, and Mental Wellbeing in a Digital World

3 min readJun 22, 2021

The I Have Cool Friends podcast, hosted by Samantha Peszek, is a show that sparks inspirational conversations with experts about business, wellness, and personal development.

INTRODUCING JON LEVY:

In today’s episode, Sam welcomes back consultant, speaker, and influencer, Jon Levy. Jon is a behavioral scientist best known for his work in the field of influence, community, and adventure. He specializes in applying research to transform the ways companies approach marketing, sales, consumer engagement, and product development. Today, Sam and Jon talk about the importance of community and connection as it pertains to our physical and mental wellbeing. They discuss the impact our digital world, specifically social media, has had on our sense of community as well as some of the major reasons people have trouble connecting to one another. Jon talks about the inspiration behind his latest book, You’re Invited, and the impact our close circle of friends and family can have on our lives.

THIS EPISODE FEATURES INSIGHTS ON COMMUNITY, SOCIAL MEDIA & CONNECTION:

· Sam welcomes back Jon Levy, who talks about the impact of the global pandemic, the importance of social integration, and his new book, You’re Invited

· The concept of ART, Attention Restoration Theory

· Why the relationships we make online can be transferable to ‘real life’

· The biggest problems people have connecting with others

· Jon talks about the large study he recently did on dating

· The Pratfall Effect and Psychological Safety

· The relationship between community and connection

· Jon’s thoughts on social media as it relates to the idea of community

· Jon discusses his latest book, You’re Invited, and explains the influencer equation

· Jon talks about a recent study done on the obesity epidemic

· Sam thanks Jon for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can follow him

WHAT DID JON SAY?

“I discovered something really concerning. In 1985, the average American had just about three friends besides family. By 2004, that was down to two. And that’s before social media. That’s before being stuck in our homes with a pandemic. And the crazy thing about that is that loneliness is really dangerous from a health perspective.”

“When we are put under a lot of stress as a society, we actually are really good at coming together. Whenever there’s a disaster, people support each other.”

“Our brain reacts differently in areas of nature. And it often goes into something called, ‘The Default Mode Network.’ You know like when your mind wanders? It actually allows areas of the brain that aren’t normally all running at the same time to work simultaneously. And so it allows us to process things and sometimes have creative experiences that otherwise just wouldn’t happen.”

“We all want to belong. And, in order to belong, it really helps to feel like there’s Psychological Safety.”

“Community doesn’t exist as a thing, like a car. It exists as a feeling. It is a sense of community, a feeling of it. It’s a feeling of, I belong. That through my participation I will accomplish or move in the direction of what I care about. That I’m not at risk of being alienated because of my views and that we have a shared history or values of some kind.”

“Everybody likes to make social media the villain of destroying our society. And I think it’s much more complicated.”

“The research on social media, that I’ve come across so far, is that extreme use is associated with — I’m not saying caused by — increased anxiety, depression, suicide, self-harm, all of that. It is completely unclear if people who are, let’s say, more depressed spend more time on social media or if social media makes them more depressed.”

“Our influence is a byproduct of who we’re connected to, how much they trust us and the sense of community that we share.”