Power Of Social Connections

Nearly 20 years ago, while I was attending graduate school at Penn, renowned social psychologist Christopher Peterson asked for a show of hands for those of us who had a “4:00 a.m. friend”—someone we could call in the middle of the night for any reason. He was pleased to see most of us raise our hands. He smiled and told us this was a key factor for our well-being. He then paused, grew very serious, and implored the rest of the class to get a 4:00 a.m. friend right away. Like our lives and happiness depend on it. Because it does, he said. I’ll never forget the earnest look on his face.