Social Benefits

An Amazing Social Tool

THE IMPORTANT ROLE LAUGHTER CAN PLAY IN YOUR SOCIAL LIFE

Along with all the listed physical and emotional health benefits, laughter can also improve our social life and keep our relationships running smoothly. Some experts go as far as to consider the social benefits of laughter, as the most powerful influence in our overall wellbeing.

However happy we may feel, laughter is a signal we send to others and it virtually disappears when we lack an audience. So, laughter is primarily a social vocalization that binds people together. It is a universal language and it’s not a learned group reaction but an instinctive behavior programmed by our genes. Laughter bonds us through humour and play.

Making a conscious effort to incorporate more humour and fun into our daily life will pay big dividends because laughter creates and strengthens relationships.

Couples who laugh together stay together. Research shows that couples who use laughter and smile when discussing a touchy subject, feel better in the immediacy and report higher levels of satisfaction in their relationship. They also tend to stay together longer.

If you’re laughing, you’re far more likely to be surrounded by others, according to research by laughter expert Dr. Robert Provine. The critical laughter trigger for most people is not just a joke or funny movie but another person.

After observing 1,200 people laughing in their natural environments, Dr. Provine and his team found that social laughter occurs 30 times more frequently than solitary laughter.

It is contagious.  When you laugh, others laugh too — thus the quality of social interaction improves. When we share funny stories and lots of good laughs, new bonds of friendship are formed as we laugh at our mistakes and learn together.

Our smiling faces, and the laughter we bring with funny, puny (even “dad”) jokes can really impact and bring added value to our family and friendship dynamics and our workplace atmosphere, benefitting not only ourselves but also those who live and work closer to us.

Also, laughter is a sign of good will toward others.

According to a 2010 study in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, laughter and smiling are generally intended as a message of good will. The authors write that, “Because some forms of smiling are voluntary and easily faked, laughter, which requires a more synergetic contraction of the wider musculature, expresses a more secure and safe message to others.”

On top of all this, laughter boosts creativity and innovative thinking.

Laughter can provide a new perspective.  Very often it introduces a more light-hearted view of the world which helps us see situations differently, and re-frames problems helping us to see new possibilities — and sometimes, even find novel solutions.

On the whole, Laughter is an extraordinary social tool in the way it Improves Cooperation, Communication and Romance

Laughing together can greatly improve cooperation and empathy between people of different cultural backgrounds. It fosters better communication, which leads to a less confrontational approach in tense situations and a change from individual competitiveness to team cooperation. It’s also an indicator of family vitality and healthy couples.

Let’s keep laughing together and the world will be a better place.

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