In news surprising absolutely no one, going to concerts on the regular actually leads to a happier and more satisfying life. We could’ve told you that, but let’s have actual scientists from Victoria’s Deakin University do it for us instead.
As Consequence of Sound reports, researchers studied 1,000 participants and found that those who regularly engaged in any kind of “communal musical experience”, whether a concert or a festival, reported higher levels of life satisfaction.
This is in contrast to listening to music alone, which doesn’t have the same effects. It’s the “communal” aspect of attending gigs and festivals that leads to the increase in happiness, as punters tend to feel more connected to others.
Of course, one has to consider whether we’re looking at correlation or causation here. Naturally happy and outgoing people may simply be more likely to engage in communal experiences like gigs than naturally introverted and melancholic people, who’d prefer listening to music alone.
Still, we don’t think the whole correlation vs. causation thing is any reason not to try and replicate the results of the experiment yourself. We suggest you go out and attend as many gigs as you possibly can.
We also have it on good authority that your life satisfaction will increase even more so if you attend gigs that don’t have a massive impact on your wallet. Might we suggest checking out our weekly Best Local Gigs For Under $15 column?
