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World Happiness Report 2026

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Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#61

Post by dyauspitr »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #37
jamilton wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An obvious issue with the metaphor that comes to mind is that if you consider yourself to have a pretty good life, to be overall happy and satisfied, but you think it's possible to have an objectively much better life, then you'd rank yourself relatively low. And vice versa, if you think your life sucks but it could be much worse you'd rank yourself relatively high.

But, that is still giving a happiness score. If the society/culture you are living within. Is well off, but swamped with cravings that it could be better. Then you are less happy. This study isn't trying to measure how 'materially well off you are', it is happiness. So if you are un-satisfied even with your big house, and un-happy, that still says something.

It’s also a culture score. Objectively we should all be very unhappy because we’re not all billionaires and can’t do whatever we want but culture tempers at what point you’re content.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#62

Post by 10xDev »

alstonite wrote: post #2

It’s interesting to see a country’s internal rank of its own happiness against how I would rank them using my worldview. Israel for example seems like a place that would be fairly unhappy right now given world events, but they rank quite highly. Saudi Arabia also sticks out as unexpected. It seems in the media I hear about their government being quite oppressive (especially against women), so seeing them just above t…

[flagged]

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#63

Post by 10xDev »

deadbabe wrote: post #6
alstonite wrote: post #2

It’s interesting to see a country’s internal rank of its own happiness against how I would rank them using my worldview. Israel for example seems like a place that would be fairly unhappy right now given world events, but they rank quite highly. Saudi Arabia also sticks out as unexpected. It seems in the media I hear about their government being quite oppressive (especially against women), so seeing them just above t…

In Israel they use happiness as a rebellion. You try to kill them, you say what you want, but they don’t care, they stay happy. It fuels their enemy’s rage.

No they just call you an antisemite and ask America to bomb you.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#64

Post by yoyohello13 »

genghisjahn wrote: post #47
erelong wrote: post #44

I think social media is being wrongly made in to a scapegoat Rather, social media mis-use is a symptom of young people having a lack of things like "third spaces" to go to to socialize at, of not having meaningful work or volunteer opportunities, of lacking certain other things that may have existed in the past. Social media offers a new engaging experiment that fills the void of some of these things that don't exist…

I was not an athlete growing up. Didn't do much in organized sports. But all three of my kids play a team sport. It does wonders for them. I really helped them get out of the pandemic. But having them outside several hours a week, working with peers and other adults, practicing new skills. Really cool to see and I think it really helped their mental health (and by extension, my own).

Yes! I do think playing team sports (for kids and adults) is incredible for mental health. Exercise, learning new skills and socialization all rolled into one fun package. I honestly think that's why Crossfit has become popular. It's essentially an after school sport for adults.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#65

Post by dyauspitr »

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #49
9rx wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are concerns, but not all that closely tied to happiness. Research shows time and time again that deep social connection is the key, if you will, to happiness. And today's Canadians aren't that great at being social: "In 1986, about one in two Canadians saw their friends on an average day. Now, only about one in five do." — https://www.cbc.ca/radio/nowornever/maintain-friendship-conn...

> Research shows time and time again that deep social connection is the key, if you will, to happiness. Research suggests it, but it does not show it. Psychological research is notoriously unscientific, with most studies not even being replicable because humans are extremely complex and it's basically impossible to design any kind of methodology that concretely controls for all variables, all the more so when we have…

I’m in tech and laboring on my farm are my happiest moments. I love to work hard with my hands. I absolutely hate working with what seems like pointless minutia on a computer but I’m good at it and can’t make a comfortable living farming so I do what I have to do. People are very different so I’m interested to see what their n is in each country. If it’s in the hundreds, this study means nothing.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#66

Post by brailsafe »

avgDev wrote: post #11
stabbles wrote: post #4

You would think that Finland's unemployment rate (10%+) would influence its ranking, but that's not the case at all.

Nordic countries have better safety nets. I haven't travelled there but I grew up in Poland and still visit. US feels very capitalistic to me. I feel the pace is slower in Poland. In US I feel the need to produce. Might be just me.

This is how I feel as a Canadian. It's just a border between us, we've got issues of our own but on one side life seems much more transactional and individualistic in a somewhat repulsive way. I'm sure it's not unique to them, and I'm sure it's not uniformly pervasive. I rarely feel like a true foreigner while I'm in the country, but there's just this unsettling feeling of distrust coupled with a drive to consume that I don't feel when I'm north of the border.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#67

Post by Archit3ch »

As a foreigner living in Finland, people here don't necessarily have more, but they behave like the proverbial fisherman.

An ambitious CEO moves to a small coastal town, living right on the beach to "optimize his lifestyle." Every evening, he sees a local fisherman sitting on his deck, playing guitar and watching the sunset with his family.

After a week, the CEO approaches the fisherman and says, "You know, if you spent less time playing guitar and more time fishing, you could buy a second boat."

The fisherman asks, "Why would I do that?"

"To catch more fish, sell them, and buy a whole fleet! Then you'd be rich," says the CEO.

"And then?" asks the fisherman.

"Then you could retire, move to a quiet beach, and play guitar all evening!"

The fisherman smiles and says, "What do you think I'm doing right now, while you're trying to figure out the ROI on my hobby?"

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#68

Post by HerbManic »

erelong wrote: post #44

I think social media is being wrongly made in to a scapegoat Rather, social media mis-use is a symptom of young people having a lack of things like "third spaces" to go to to socialize at, of not having meaningful work or volunteer opportunities, of lacking certain other things that may have existed in the past. Social media offers a new engaging experiment that fills the void of some of these things that don't exist…

It seems to be a bit of both working in tandem. Social media companies are in a race to the bottom of what is socially acceptable to drive as much engagement as possible. But a lack of third spaces also pushes folks into that cycle.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#69

Post by whoknowsidont »

whoknowsidont wrote: post #36
honeycrispy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad there's no one to shield Israel's neighbors from experiencing the consequence of theirs, eh?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/comments/1ry2kwr/the_moment... Exciting stuff!

lol at the parent comment being flagged.

Being factual is really problematic on this site, ain't it?

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