Spend Time at Your Local Bar to Build Community and Your Own Happiness

If cheesy laugh-track sitcoms have taught us anything, it’s that the bar isn’t just a place to get drunk. The community you build by being a regular at a bar can be valuable for improving your own life.

As researchers at Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology explain, there are social benefits to being a regular at a bar. While the research was conducted in the UK (which has a strong pub culture), the core concepts are widely applicable. Namely, that bars and pubs offer patrons a chance to relax outside their home with like-minded individuals at a shared place they all appreciate. This helps foster community, which in turn has a positive effect on overall happiness:

Friendship and community are probably the two most important factors influencing our health and well-being. Making and maintaining friendships, however, is something that has to be done face-to-face: the digital world is simply no substitute. Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be online rather than face-to-face, having relaxed accessible venues where people can meet old friends and make new ones becomes ever more necessary.

Of course, bars aren’t the only place where building community is possible—churches, clubs, and after-hours work events are all candidates as well—but the researchers note that bars offer the opportunity for a little alcohol to grease the social wheels, as well as a shared space that’s not devoted to a single task. Also, keep in mind that this research was sponsored by the Campaign For Real Ale, so this may not be a scientifically rigorous claim, but it’s at least something that’s worth discussing over a pint.

Being a Regular at a Bar Is Good For Your Health | Vice

Photo by Russel Trow.

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