Can shared experiences bring people closer together?

Across the world, fans will soon be tuning in at all hours of the day and night to watch the Paris Olympics. In a world where on-demand media streaming is now increasingly the norm, sport is something of a rarity. It’s watched live, often with other people.

Can something as simple as watching a sporting competition at the same time bring people closer together? In this episode, we explore this question with a Garriy Shteynberg an associate professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee in the US who studies the impact of shared experiences.

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This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive editor. Full credits available here. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. To support what we do, please consider donating to The Conversation.

Further reading and listening:

• ‘Collective mind’ bridges societal divides − psychology research explores how watching the same thing can bring people together
• How to depolarise deeply divided societies – podcast
• More coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics across The Conversation