A report released by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023 found that the physical impacts of loneliness and isolation on physical health are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The report goes on to explore the importance of community and connection to combat what it refers to as an epidemic.
Play as a Vehicle for Connection
So, how can we remedy this? Building connection through play is a way many people are forging new relationships as well as stimulating other growth.
Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play (NIFP), said that lack of play is detrimental to overall human health and wellbeing.He said that all mammals have a biological drive to play as part of their development and overall wellbeing and that humans — even adult humans — are no different.
Various types of play can be a catalyst for community building and social connection.
Meet Me at the Card Table
“One of the things happening today is called Meet Me at the Card Table. And this is an event that actually grew out of some individual groups who meet to play games, but they had trouble finding spaces that have square tables,” said Jesse East, branch manager at the Library Center on a weekday in March.
East said this is one of many programs the library offers that invite people to come together over common interests.She said the program has blossomed in a short amount of time over the past few months, and it’s helped create new friendships.
There’s a variety of games people can choose to play. On this day, the majority of the players are at tables of four, each engaged in the game of Mahjong.
Andrea Gardner Fannin has been an avid Mahjong player for years. She said she found this group a few months ago and has been coming ever since. She saidshe’s played this game in various settings but has especially enjoyed the community that she has found in this group.
“What we found is, post COVID, now we're all trying to find opportunities to gather again. And Mahjong is one of those opportunities for me," she said. "So, it's great because anybody can come to the Mahjong table. Our community is very welcoming.”
Gardner Fannin says not to worry if you are new to the game. It can be a little overwhelming at first, and she said no one will be “good” right away. But that shouldn’t keep you from attending.
“When you first come, you're going to feel like you got hit by a Mack truck because there's a lot of information. But this group has been very welcoming," she said.
Melanie Carr is another recent-comer to the group and said that playing games together not only is fun, but is a good way to stimulate the brain and form new friendships.
“It gives you an excuse to show up to an event and do something. But then the real, the real richness is what happens in between the games," she said. "Once the game ends and we linger and we talk, that to me is why we play games is because it's really just an excuse to get together.”
Carr said, while people often begin by connecting over the game, strategies and how to get better each round, conversations naturally progress to other shared interests, and connections seem to take off from there.
The Library is More Than Just Books
In addition to games, East said the library district has many socially engaging programs geared toward all ages, including children’s story times, teen events, book clubs, Second Sunday concerts and more. These are free and open to the public.
“I think one of the things that makes a library so important in a community is that it is a third place," said East. "So, a third place is a place where a person can just be. They don't have to purchase anything. They don't have to commit to anything, and it's outside of work, and it's outside of home."
East said the volunteer organization Friends of the Library holds book sales each year. A significant portion of the proceeds is funneled into the library district’s programs. East points out that “librarians are the friendliest people around” so if you are unsure where to start, they will help you find what you might be looking for.
East said libraries are places that allow people who might not otherwise have social connections a chance to interact with others, and that’s important.
“There's a gentleman who comes here every day and he reads some of our newspapers, and he has actually told our day porter, our cleaning custodian person who walks by him every morning, they say a few words to each other, and after several months he told her, ‘you're the only person I talk to sometimes in a day,’ and he thanked her, and that's incredible," she said.
There are programs at the Springfield-Greene County Library for all ages. Kids’ programs allow parents to meet other parents while their children listen to stories and take part in various activities. There are programs where teens can connect while having fun. Programs for adults range from book clubs to learning how to craft to brushing up on or learning new computer skills. You can go to thelibrary.org and click on “programs” to find out what events are happening in any given month.
Support for Making a Difference comes from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
