Can Events Help Fix the Erosion of Social Connection?
The "Société des Liens" ("Society of Connections") study, led by La Fabrique Spinoza with support from KLESIA Agirc-Arrco and in partnership with UNIMEV, paints a concerning picture of social connection in France — and positions events as part of the answer.
A weakened social fabric
The numbers are striking: 79% of French people say they distrust others (up 17 points since 2019), 31% refuse to engage with someone holding an opposing view on a critical issue, and 71% of young people report feeling lonely. Post-pandemic fatigue, isolation, the disappearance of social spaces, and norms of discretion are all making opportunities to connect scarcer.
Well-documented benefits
Yet social connection remains the number one factor for health and life expectancy, according to the study: a good friend is estimated to reduce annual mortality risk by 50%, with loneliness proving more harmful than smoking. It's also linked to better immunity, reduced stress, and improved cognitive function — an estimated average gain of +10 years of life expectancy.
Events as a connection engine
Against this backdrop, events are presented as a critical vector for rebuilding connection: they foster encounters and relational diversity, and boost cooperation and organizational performance. In support: an estimated 70% of information shared in a company in a single day flows through informal exchanges.
In practice, event organizers can strengthen this social dimension through several levers: selecting teams based on psycho-social-emotional skills, designing spaces for interaction (furniture, central dining areas, greenery), building in participatory rituals (speed-meetings, matchmaking apps), or measuring social impact through tools like connection sociograms.
Toward a "society of connections"
For the study's authors, rebuilding social connection also means building a more prosperous society: stronger social cohesion is linked to greater security (71% of French people associate it with fraternity), economic performance (the highest-performing companies are said to generate 18 times more positive emotions), and ecological transition, as social connection is shown to boost environmental engagement.
The study concludes that events, by embedding this dimension of connection, become a tool for shared prosperity — repositioning the industry not just as a service business, but as a genuine connection-building engine.
Article written with the assistance of AI. Source: "Société des Liens" Study, La Fabrique Spinoza / KLESIA Agirc-Arrco / UNIMEV