collective effervescence
& concerts
The term collective effervescence was created by Émile Durkheim in 1912 in order to describe the sense of heightened energy or unity that arises from collective activity or experience. It’s one of the main facts that has remained in my head from college psychology class, accompanied by the root of various attachment styles, Pavlovian response, face-blindness, and misattribution of arousal aka the suspension bridge effect (amidst a handful of additional random facts).
To me, collective effervescence is one of the best elements of human existence. There is something really special about being in a room or a stadium with hundreds to thousands of strangers who are similarly excited and focused on the same thing as you. All of these people decided to carry themselves to the same space at the same time just to experience joy. Amidst the frequent chaos of life, they chose to be there. Honestly, in a world where a lot of things often don’t make much sense, and it sometimes feels like there is a lot of evil, moments of collective effervescence balance things out.
The other night, I went to one of my favorite artist’s concerts (Khamari), and everything about it was perfect. Before he even stepped on the stage, the venue started playing random R&B songs, and the crowd was singing every single word together. And then, of course, once the concert started, this energy became even stronger. It was such a small venue, and therefore, it felt like all of his super-fans were in the room. I hadn’t ever been around so many people who loved his music as much as I did. Aside from the fandom, it felt surreal to be in a small room with this artist who I had only interacted with on Spotify and Instagram. It feels like music artists are fake until you find yourself in a room with them, and suddenly they actually do exist.
In contrast, going to concerts in huge stadiums is special in its own way because the collective experience is multiplied by thousands. The grandeur replaces the intimacy.
Big sporting events feel similarly to these stadium concerts. Whenever I attend MLS games at home, I am often distracted by the energy and excitement of the crowd. Watching the game is a fraction of the fun, and the rest of it is the simple yet joyous experience of just being a part of a whole.
Concert tickets are so pricey these days, partially due to the evil tendencies of Ticketmaster, but also because people will always buy the tickets, no matter how expensive they are. The problem with resellers and bots is ever present because people aren’t willing to boycott and miss out on these events.
To me, it seems like people are increasingly yearning for a feeling of collective effervescence in a world where human connection often feels scarce.
Maybe we should start creating more spaces that feel like a Khamari concert.
