Importance of the Sense of Belonging

The concept of meaning belonging it is essential to build a person's identity and subjectivity. Thus, we speak of elements that make us feel part of something collective, group, that gives us subjectivity but in the environment of a group of people with whom we can share endless things.

Individuality is built together with other people

When we try to define the concept of a sense of belonging, we find ourselves with a very important dilemma: belonging speaks to us of being part of a group, of a group of people. Here we must then point out that our individuality is largely contributions that we choose both at a conscious level and at an unconscious level and the construction What we make of it is absolutely unique in each case.

However, all these elements are part of something more complex that is society or the community and therefore cannot be isolated from it. Being in this framework, we can say that our identity is made from the environment and from those people and social phenomena that surround us, which are those and not others for a social reason also.

When we feel part of something, our quality of life improves.

As social beings that we are, it is clear that feeling part of a group or a social group helps us raise our self-esteem, to feel recognized, etc. The sense of social belonging can be present in many different ways: one can feel part of a nation, of a religion, of a conviction or political belief or simply being an admirer together with other people of certain styles and artistic, sports or cultural groups.

The sense of belonging can also be built on the basis of social groups that determine our lives, for example, as happens with the LGBT collective that brings together those people who escape the rules of patriarchy, or feminism, certain social groups and protest etc All these examples are clear in what makes a person feel accompanied and part of something much stronger than individual identity.

The construction of belonging as a State policy

Local or national states have always needed to generate and consolidate feelings of belonging that had to do with more emotional than rational identifications. They have varied largely according to the historical context, but have ranged from the political (for example, the need to build a national identity or belonging) going through the religious (as when religion has become a defining element of the belonging to a community) to the social (when certain political movements come to power and build class identity from over there).

In all cases, it has to do with the need to unite the populations behind certain ideas, convictions or feelings that make us feel fulfilled and accompanied by many others individuals.

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