Spending money on experiences can boost social connections and combat loneliness more effectively than spending on material things, a new study from Harvard University suggests.
Last year, US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued an advisory describing loneliness and isolation as a national epidemic, with health consequences comparable to cigarette smoking and obesity.
To address this widespread isolation, Murthy’s office urged Americans to find and act on ways to strengthen their social connections.
The new research identifies one effective method: spending money on experiences instead of material goods.
Previous studies showed that attending concerts, dining out, or traveling is more satisfying than buying new cars or clothes. This study focused on another benefit of experiential purchases: their impact on social connection.
“What this work suggests is that we might actually be able to build social capital from what we buy,” the researchers explain. “That, in turn, could lead to more health and happiness.”
Boosting happiness
In seven experiments, the researchers surveyed over 1,400 participants about their feelings of social connection after making experiential and material purchases.
The experiments found that, compared to material purchases, experiential purchases:
- Boost feelings of similarity
Participants rated their feelings of similarity to someone who made the same purchase on a scale from 1 to 9. Across several experiments, they consistently rated these feelings significantly higher for experiential purchases than for material ones—up to 1.51 points higher. They also felt a greater sense of connection and kinship.
“You feel a significantly stronger sense of connectedness when you find out that you just saw the same band in concert than when you learn you have the same shoes as someone else,” the authors explain.
- Are more tied to identity
Experiences are a bigger part of a person’s identity than material possessions. On a similar scale, participants rated their sense that experiential purchases constitute part of who they are at an average of 7.21, compared to 5.92 for material purchases.
“All of our buying habits are, to some extent, part of who we are, and they can connect us to other people,” the researchers say. “But that’s much more likely to be true of experiences we buy than material items we buy.”
- Are less tied to envy
Even when the other person consumes a similar but superior version of the same purchase, experiential purchases bring a greater sense of connection than material ones do.
For example, two people attending the same baseball game, one in the nosebleed section and the other in a private box, are likely to feel a stronger sense of kinship than if they simply noticed they were wearing the same kind of shoes.
It might seem obvious that experiential purchases boost social connection, as people usually attend concerts or travel with others. However, they increase feelings of connectedness not just to friends but to people in general.
Social connection
In two experiments, participants felt a greater “sense of connection to humanity” after reflecting on experiential purchases than on material purchases. Conversely, thinking about material purchases left them “unusually disinclined” to pursue social connection in general.
While the findings are most relevant to individual consumers and policymakers seeking to boost health and happiness, there are also practical implications for businesses. Companies should consider highlighting the experiential aspects of the material goods they sell.
“That would likely enhance consumers’ feelings of social connection and drive longer-term satisfaction,” the authors conclude. “That can be important for things like customer retention and brand loyalty.”
