We define social value as the worth of resources formed by social connections.

It’s a term to help us talk about the individual and societal needs of humans.

It’s a term to help frame and measure the actions that increase our well-being.

It’s a term to help us discuss the global depression and anxiety crisis and what we can do to improve the situation.

So, let’s break that down.

The social part

“Social” encapsulates both the concepts “of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society” and “tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others” as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Additionally, (also per Merriam-Webster), “living and breeding in more or less organized communities especially for the purposes of cooperation and mutual benefit: not solitary.”

In other words, connections and interactions with other people.

The value part

Value in our society often carries a meaning of monetary or material worth, and while activities of high social value can contribute to better economic outcomes, it’s not the primary purpose of using “value” in the term.

Instead, “value” here means “relative worth, merit, or importance” as per Dictionary.com.  All three of these are equally important when we discuss Social value.

Merriam-Webster adds this nuance, “something (such as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable.”

In other words, value represents the benefits that might be created by a particular activity or interaction and enjoyed by humans.

Social + Value

When we combine the two, we get a term that describes the worth of actions taken to improve the connections of humans in ways that create individual and community benefits.

It’s a new term, not to be confused with the business term as used in the U.K., though it has some similarities in that both involve benefiting humans.

This is a term to help us evaluate, and sometimes measure, the worth of interactions and actions that meet our deep needs as humans for connection and community. It demonstrates our sense of connectedness to our fellow humans – connectedness that creates real benefits such as higher levels of employment, less crime, and more happiness.

Two applications for the term

The first question to address is how can we take individual actions that increase social value?

This is at the heart of Social Seahorse Connections - taking individual (and often small) actions that benefit not only the well-being of the individual but the health of our wider communities.

The second question to address is what actions are already being taken to improve the social value of our society?

Social Seahorse Connections celebrates examples of greater societal implementations that are succeeding at making an impact toward social connectedness. We seek to find ways to support, learn from, and model these efforts.

What are the real-world impacts?

We all have the ability to take actions that make a difference today.
Actions like:

• Looking our server at our local restaurant in the eye – helping them feel seen and heard.
• Inviting someone to take a walk through the natural settings of a local park.
• Checking in with our co-workers, showing them appreciation and finding out how they are doing.

The key is believing that societal change can and does happen when we take deliberate actions to improve the social value of our environments, and then taking those actions.

I’m thrilled to have you here, as we work together to increase the social value of our world together because together is better!