Who needs humans?
Your pet might not be able to tackle your laundry or troubleshoot your internet, but a new study suggests they could bring you just as much joy and fulfillment as a spouse or close friend.
Researchers in the U.K. found that pet ownership significantly enhances overall life satisfaction—on par with being married or regularly connecting with loved ones. In fact, the emotional value of having a pet was estimated to be around £70,000 (roughly $90,000) per year in terms of well-being.
This estimate comes from a method used by economists to quantify the “implicit value” of non-material life enhancements—essentially assigning a monetary value to things like emotional support or companionship.
The research, published on March 31 in the journal Social Indicators Research, aimed to understand the emotional return on pet ownership. Co-author Adelina Gschwandtner, an economics professor at the University of Kent, told CNN she was surprised by the results, even as a pet lover herself. “People often say their pets are like family, so it makes sense the emotional value could be comparable,” she noted.
Gschwandtner explained that, unlike friends or family you might see weekly, a pet is with you every day—offering a consistent source of comfort and connection.
The study compared pet ownership to similar research measuring the emotional benefits of marriage or regular social interaction. The takeaway? Pets provide a comparable boost to happiness.
Researchers gathered data from a survey of 2,500 households across Britain and used a technique known as the “instrumental variables approach.” This method helps identify variables that are related to pet ownership but not directly linked to life satisfaction, offering a more accurate assessment of the pet’s impact on emotional well-being.
The findings suggest that pets can offer many of the same psychological benefits as human relationships, prompting Gschwandtner to suggest that policy changes—such as easing restrictions on pet ownership in rental housing—could be beneficial.
Still, not all experts believe pets can entirely substitute human relationships. Megan Mueller, a professor at Tufts University who specializes in human-animal interactions, cautions that while pets provide valuable emotional and social support, they aren’t a full replacement for human connection. “Animals can have a profound bond with us,” she said, “but they’re not the same as people.”
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