# Why we should all be partying more > A party historian explains how gathering together has shaped human culture and why we need it now more than ever. - Title: Why we should all be partying more · Vox | Shortify - Summary: A party historian explains how gathering together has shaped human culture and why we need it now more than ever. Parties aren't frivolous, they're how… - Keywords: parties, nightlife, loneliness epidemic, collective effervescence, cultural history, social gathering, imogen willetts, religion and hedonism, harlem rent parties, abstract expressionism, communal experiences, human connection - Source: Vox — https://vox.com/explain-it-to-me/502777/history-of-partying-imogen-willets-explained - Author: Jonquilyn Hill - Published: 2026-09-20T11:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: parties, nightlife, loneliness epidemic, collective effervescence, cultural history, social gathering, imogen willetts, religion and hedonism, harlem rent parties, abstract expressionism, communal experiences, human connection ## We're partying less than ever More than half of Americans feel isolated, and only 4 percent of adults attended a party on a weekend or holiday in 2023. We're in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. > More than half of Americans say they feel isolated, and we're getting together less and less. ## Religion used to be the party For most of human history, drinking, dancing, and music were part of religious practice. Medieval churches were so rowdy that wooden pews were added to Wells Cathedral to subdue the dancing. > Religion contained people's hedonistic instinct. There was nothing really outside of it. ## Modern nightlife began in Japan Seventeenth-century Japan saw the first commercial party scenes separate from religion and royal courts. Yoshiwara, built on the outskirts of Edo (now Tokyo), was the first real nightlife destination. ## Collective effervescence explained Sociologist Émile Durkheim coined the term 'collective effervescence' in 1912 to describe the euphoria we feel during peak communal experiences, whether at sports matches, concerts, or on dance floors. > That is the same sensation, that surge of euphoria that people feel on dance floors. ## Parties drive cultural innovation Nightlife spaces have been epicenters of artistic and cultural breakthroughs. Abstract expressionists met at the Cedar Tavern, the Viennese Secession Movement gathered at Cabaret Fledermaus, and new music genres like disco and techno were created for dance floors. > Nightlife is very uniquely poised to allow for experimentation and innovation and transgression. ## New Orleans fish fries Turn-of-the-century New Orleans residents opened their homes on Saturday nights for fish fries, charging entry and providing food, drink, and live bands. It was a way for struggling households to earn extra cash. ## Harlem's rent parties In 1920s Harlem, residents opened their apartments for Saturday night rent parties with food, drink, and live music. Langston Hughes attended frequently and collected the business card invitations, which are now archived at Yale. > They were more interesting than anything that was going on in the cabarets and the clubs. ## Good music and lighting matter The best parties share core elements: good music, good lighting, and an atmosphere where anything feels possible. Transforming domestic spaces, turning the kitchen into a cocktail bar or living room into a dance floor, makes people feel alive. > You need good music, you need good lighting, and you need to create this atmosphere where the sense that anything can happen. ## Parties let us shed our daily lives The heart of party culture is about escaping routine and experiencing slight disorder. People want to behave differently and do something wild, which is deeply satisfying after conforming to daily expectations. > We want to shed our daily lives. You want that sense of slight disorder that makes people feel alive. ## We need parties in secular times As societies become increasingly atheist and secular, nightlife and parties are essential for accessing communal euphoric experiences. Without them, we lose a crucial way to feel connected to something bigger than ourselves. > We need nightlife to have these communal euphoric experiences and feel part of something bigger than ourselves. ## Key takeaway Parties aren't frivolous, they're how humans access collective euphoria and drive cultural innovation, and we're doing it less than ever.