Eco-Map
An Eco-Map focuses on the three layers of social connections and how they relate to you. Eco-Maps are used to show a visual map of a family’s connections to the external world. They will provide a useful tool for assessment of family, social and community relationships and will highlight the quality of these connections. Eco-Maps can change over time and there is always hope to build on your connections.
Inner Circle: You
Second Circle: Close friends, immediate family, mentors, household members
Third Circle: Distant relatives, neighbors, colleagues, community groups, teachers, playdate parents.
Outside Circle: YouTube channels, blogs, celebrity icons, political entities, social media
For this activity, you are going to create and share your own Eco-Map. Use the above example to help you make your own Eco-Map.
Draw a small circle in the middle of the page as you see in the example. Write “Me”.
Next, add another circle draw as shown in the example. These are your closest connections. Who are the people you talk to regularly, confide in and who supports you most? These could be friends, family, mentors, or people you live with.
Then, add another circle for your connections that are helpful and often available. These could be friends, neighbors, distant relatives, colleagues, community groups, or teachers. These are people you spend time with often. They support you in many ways but they aren’t as close as your inner circle.
Finally, draw another circle to add your connections to those people you may see and talk to from time to time. They support you in your biggest accomplishments and available as a last resort. These could be YouTube Channels, blogs, celebrity icons, political entities and social media friends or groups.