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World Happiness Report 2026

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Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#91

Post by applfanboysbgon »

bombcar wrote: post #79
applfanboysbgon wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 am an absolute misanthrope, I seriously hate every one of you bastards, but I'm pretty damn happy. Hey, it didn't say deep positive social connection. Perhaps your hatred is what fuels you and keeps you happy :) And another question from a ratbastard; have you ever spend a significant time labouring on a farm, or without indoor plumbing and/or air conditioning?

I have, yes. Although born in a wealthy country, I grew up in abject poverty. I wasn't entirely unhappy then, and I do understand how social connection can help make it bearable. But I'm a lot happier now than then, and my happiness no longer depends upon the whims of other people, one of whom in particular betrayed my trust and left me deeply depressed for years. I greatly prefer my happiness being in my own hands, and I really couldn't go back to manual labour now, because there is so much I want to create and already not enough time to do it all; having more time to idly think about all the things I want to create and less time to create them would be torturous.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#92

Post by pegasus »

weisnobody wrote: post #40

Well, someone once tried to get happiness classified as a psychiatric disorder: * https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1376114/ (1992) The abstract: “ It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder and be included in future editions of the major diagnostic manuals under the new name: major affective disorder, pleasant type. In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness i…

I have a feeling our collective leg is being pulled:

"The behavioural components of happiness are less easily characterised but particular facial expressions such as 'smiling' have been noted"

"Certainly, if television soap operas in any way reflect real life, happiness is a very rare phenomenon indeed in places as far apart as Manchester, the East End of London and Australia. Interestingly, despite all the uncertainty about the epidemiology of happiness, there is some evidence that it is unevenly distributed amongst the social classes: individuals in the higher socio-economic groupings generally report greater positive affect which may reflect the fact that they are more frequently exposed to environmental risk factors for happiness."

...pretty hilarious if you ask me :)

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#94

Post by throw0101d »

9rx wrote: post #54
throw0101d wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Young people with difficult housing affordability and general high cost of living is dragging down the score. Boomers that own their homes are more satisfied: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dizaUBC22o4&t=4m13s

Except the biggest drop was among teenage girls. Housing affordability and cost of living isn't usually yet a concern to most teenagers, and to the extent that it is a concern, it is equally a concern to teenage boys who haven't felt the same decline in happiness.

> Except the biggest drop was among teenage girls.

Even if it is the biggest drop it is not the only drop.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#97

Post by jltsiren »

dyauspitr wrote: post #61
FrustratedMonky wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The kind of a person who thinks they would be substantially happier as a billionaire would probably be unhappy as a billionaire. You get used to what you have, but there is always more wealth / status / power / influence to be had.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#98

Post by YorickPeterse »

Considering the state of The Netherlands over the last two decades, I can't help but feel this report is straight up bullshit. The only way I can see The Netherlands rank this high is by only asking two people and some sheep in the middle of nowhere.

Re: World Happiness Report 2026

#99

Post by 9rx »

throw0101d wrote: post #94
9rx wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except the biggest drop was among teenage girls. Housing affordability and cost of living isn't usually yet a concern to most teenagers, and to the extent that it is a concern, it is equally a concern to teenage boys who haven't felt the same decline in happiness.

> Except the biggest drop was among teenage girls. Even if it is the biggest drop it is not the only drop.

Right — teenage girls have long been considered to be leading indicator in cultural shifts. So it isn't unexpected that when teenage girls become unhappy that everyone else will slowly start to follow them. It is quite likely that it is going to look a lot worse the next time this evaluation takes place.

But the question is what is it that the teenage girls are seeing that the rest of us are slowly catching up in realizing? The most popular answer is the current social media landscape is creating unhappiness in them (and ultimately the rest of us), but that's the answer given for all woes these days...

Again, it's probably not housing or cost of living. While it is fair to say that teenage girls are not completely removed for that, they're generally not the ones who have to actually face it head on, and these have been considered pressing issues in Canada since before those teenage girls were born! If that made people unhappy, they'd have been unhappy for a long time already.

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