This article attracted my attention because it was done by researchers at a university in Australia. They found that those people who go to music concerts and dance events with others increased their personal well-being and had an overall higher satisfaction with life.
While I was unable to get access to the original research I did find this overview really interesting. I agree with their findings based on my personal experiences and my research from social media posts about people who go to concerts and who share similar interests in live music that it seems to have a positive impact on an individual’s well-being and satisfaction with life. However, if the research was done in Australia and Australia is an extremely large county that access depends on where a person lives, and how much money and time they have to travel to their favourite music events.
Going to live music and dance concerts with friends is different to those people who participate in fandoms. Participating in fandoms can cause fans considerable enjoyment as they meet and share experiences with like-minded fans they meet through social media and in person at concerts. Or the experience can cause a considerable amount of conflict as fans engage with other fans they come into contact with in an unconstructive manner over anything from the purchase of tickets to access to musicians and artists at concerts.
(no copyright infringement intended)
“People Who Go To Concerts Lead Happier Lives, According To Science” was posted by Kendall Deflin on 15 August, 2016 in the online webpage liveforlivemusic.com (no copyright infringement intended)
“There’s a very peculiar feeling one has in the moments leading up to a live music event: a mix of excitement, nerves, preparative thoughts, and responsible reasoning. You call your friends, line up the plans, pick out the right shoes, checking all the boxes from your list. It’s a sense of liveliness incomparable to most other moments we experience on the day-to-day grind, a feeling worth chasing after for good. Because we, fellow music lovers, know all too well that what we’re going in for will be exponentially greater than our expectations, and the resulting feelings of the other side.
Ultimately, it’s the combination of live music and community that makes these experiences so worthy of our happiness — according to a new study. Researchers in Australia found that people who habitually attend musical engagements are reported to have higher levels of subjective well-being. Deakin University scholars Melissa Weinberg and Dawn Joseph reported that Australians who participate in communal musical experiences — whether it’s at a live concert or a communal dance gathering — have elevated levels of overall satisfaction in life. Ultimately, the common thread is to engage with music in the company of others.
The study sampled 1,000 Australians, with an average age of 56, over the telephone in 2014. The subjects were asked to answer questions regarding their levels of satisfaction with health, achievements in life, relationships, et cetera, as well as their modes and levels of engagement with music; they answered with a numerical 0-10 or a yes/no response.
The researchers report that “total well-being scores were significantly higher for people who reported that they danced or attended musical events,” compared to people who did not. The
people who attended music events also reported higher levels of satisfaction with their standards of living. Similar conclusions were reported for those who danced with other people, scoring significantly higher in overall satisfaction levels than those who did not. Ultimately, people who habitually attend music events and/or dance with other people scored increased levels of well-being and satisfaction in life.
The correlation between live music engagements and dancing is clear; their relationship intrinsically binds together the freedom of art, expression, and self-satisfaction; and thus, increased happiness. Beyond the scientific reasons, that live music universally lowers stress levels, increases social bonds while decreasing levels of pain live music universally lowers stress levels and can even physiologically cause people to get “skin-gasms”, live music events naturally bring people together who are happy. This is most likely why the ritualistic practice has lasted so long. Happiness is contagious, and live music events are the center point for all these reasons.”
