The mundane tasks of life are better enjoyed in the company of others, a new study has found.
Research published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science said that common daily activities, including laundry, exercise, reading and banking, were more pleasurable when done with a friend.
Across 297 activity-specific factors, only kitchen clean-up was found to be less enjoyable when social interaction was involved.
The study analysed the relationship between socialising and happiness with more than 80 daily activities. It examined 105,766 activity episodes from 41,094 participants over four years who consistently rated every common daily activity as more enjoyable with others.
In America, “reading parties”, which allow strangers to enjoy quiet reading as well as lively conversation, are growing in popularity.
Researchers were left asking if reading, typically a solitary pursuit, was truly more enjoyable in others’ company, and whether this was true for other activities.
“A large body of theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that socialising could make almost any activity more enjoyable,” they added.
Researchers used data from four waves of the American Time Use Survey from 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2021 – the years when it included questions about happiness.
Participants were given three random episodes from their day and were asked how happy they felt on a scale from 0 to 6 at that point in time. They were then asked if they were interacting with anyone during that episode.
Last month, Labour MP Dr Simon Opher and Ecotricity owner Dale Vince developed a scheme that would give patients experiencing depression the opportunity to attend live football matches.
The former GP and MP for Stroud has strongly advocated social prescribing as an antidepressant alternative. He has previously prescribed patients with activities such as comedy and gardening, which he said help tackle loneliness.
During the Covid lockdown, when restrictions were placed on socialising, a quarter of UK residents reported feeling lonely. The most affected group was found to be young people aged 18 to 24, of whom 44 per cent admitted to experiencing loneliness.
However, not all experiences may be made better by socialising, the study says. It cites previous work that suggests the effect of a shared experience is dependent on how enjoyable the activity is.
Enjoyable activities are often better paired with social interaction, but unpleasant activities may be made more tedious in the company of others.
One study found that people thought sweet chocolates tasted better when socialising, and bitter chocolates tasted worse.
