The next time you have to go to the post office or grocery shopping, call a friend and make a date out of it. Why? Because it's good for you. New research links happiness to companionship across dozens of different daily activities. Researchers used a large set of data called the American Time Use Survey — conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau — that covered 41,000 people and examined data from four years during which survey respondents were asked to rate their happiness while undertaking daily activities. The results suggest that whether we're eating, reading, or even cleaning up around the house, happiness thrives in the company of others. It is already well-established that social interaction is a vital component of human happiness in general, and the idea that even mundane chores and traditionally solitary activities could be made more enjoyable by the presence of a friend is even more remarkable. The researchers also noted that even though the actual differences in happiness from socializing are relatively small, because people have countless opportunities to socialize throughout their daily lives, these small effects may accumulate into meaningful differences in overall happiness.
