Singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, 30, spoke with singer-songwriter and actress Janelle Monáe, 39, for Rolling Stone’s “Musician on Musician” series.
The two discussed songwriting inspiration, cinematic vision, and artificial intelligence. They also discussed mental health. Specifically, we talked about the importance of sociability.
“I have a friend who is currently studying public health at Johns Hopkins University,” Dacus said. “And one of the things they learned is to go to parties. You need to go to parties for your health.”
If you’re sick, stay home and get the alone time you need to decompress. But ultimately, she said, remember that “you can’t do it alone.”
“Breathing each other’s air is a biological necessity.”
The importance of socializing has been emphasized by experts for years.
The 2025 World Happiness Report found that every time you shared a lunch or dinner with another person, there was a “modest increase in life satisfaction around the world,” the report’s editor and director of the Center for Wellbeing Research at Oxford University, Jean-Emmanuel de Neve, previously told CNBC Make It.
Of the 14 lunches and dinners a week, the optimal number of times to eat with other people is 13. The researchers said they found that “social elements of our lives are as important, if not more important, than aspects of wealth and health” when it comes to happiness.
Social interaction can also help fight loneliness. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly a quarter of 18- to 29-year-olds, or 24%, feel lonely or lonely all or most of the time. The same goes for 20% of people aged 30 to 49.
“What makes a happy life is meaningful connections,” clinical psychologist Dr. Annabelle Chow told CNBC Make It last year. She recommends forming different types of friendships to suit different activities and needs. Work friends, “heart and soul” friends, and of course, even party friends.
Dacus also touched on the importance of online communities for queer and transgender kids of her generation. But the singer cautions against using these online interactions to completely replace in-person connections, which she says are essential.
“It’s a biological necessity for us to breathe each other’s air,” she says.
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