The Togetherness Index
The impact of communication on social cohesion
As strategic communicators, we wanted to explore the role communication plays in connecting people so we created
the Togetherness Index – a study of the impact of communication on our community. Here's what we found.
Our research identified five key communication pillars that impact social cohesion, these have been named CLOSE:
- Closeness: how close we are to different groups
- Listening: whether we feel listened to by people and institutions
- Optimism: how people feel after seeing, hearing or reading a message
- Stories: how exposed we are to stories from other backgrounds
- Effectiveness: how effective the communication we see, hear and read, is.
The research illustrates where Australia stands in terms of communication effectiveness on social cohesion.
But the data also poses some interesting questions, it allows us to consider the diverse ways communication impacts social cohesion and togetherness.
The research also allows us to explore themes that until now we couldn’t. Take a look at our discussion paper or talk to us if, from a communication perspective, you want to know:
- if governments hit the mark during COVID-19
- how trust can bring us together
- what trusting social media means for the challenge of misinformation
- the role business and the media play
- the differences between young, old and various other groups
- what’s happened to our sense of community?