Psychology experts: Watching World Cup matches extends life
Watching moments of defeat is a collective experience that strengthens social bonds with others.
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There is no doubt that this year's World Cup in Qatar is full of excitement and fun, and whether you are a football fan or not, you will definitely feel excited as you see your country progress in the qualifiers to the final rounds, or you feel heartbreak when you see your favorite team exit the World Cup Following a sudden defeat in the last moments of the match or even by goal difference due to the calculations of gain and loss at the end of the group stages.
Although traveling thousands of miles to watch the World Cup matches from the stadiums is a very difficult issue for the vast majority of people, psychology experts confirm that there are good scientific reasons why you should watch the World Cup matches on television, and they even list the many health benefits that result from supporting your favorite team. in the tournament.
Humans are by nature social beings, and the World Cup is a wonderful opportunity to communicate with others and find common social ground, says Kari Weiland, a professor of social psychology at Tulane University in New Orleans, USA.
And she explains, in statements to the American website “Popular Science”, which specializes in scientific research, that encouraging a football team makes you feel connected to something greater than you, and it also creates a sense of identity in a person.
She points out the importance of the collective joy that a person feels while watching the World Cup matches, whether with family members or even with strangers in a public place such as a cafe or others, especially if the team you support scores one or more goals during the match, and she says: «When you participate in These positive emotions with others lead to the strengthening of these collective feelings and a better emotional experience.A study published in the scientific journal “Communication and Sport” specialized in sports psychology in 2019 concluded that encouraging winning sports teams raises the degree of self-esteem or self-esteem of the fans for two days after the match, and although the information needs more scientific documentation, Wieland confirms the existence of a concept In psychology, it is called “indulging in the glory resulting from the achievements of others,” and it means that “a person is associated with the victory of others on the grounds that they belong to the same group.” She says that immersion in encouragement makes the audience feel as if they are part of the team and participating in the victory. They feel that their encouragement helped the team they support win.
Wieland says that encouraging teams in World Cup matches prolongs life, and that social communication in itself has a positive effect on prolonging human life. Studies have shown that it reduces human life by 10 to 12 years on average, and therefore when you get social support stemming from encouraging World Cup matches, there is scientific evidence that you reduce the risk of premature death.
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