9 ms·
Popular People Live Longer
- elcapitan 9y ago"Popularity" correlates with wealth, wealth correlates with health?
- ambicapter 9y agoWhy don't you read the article?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- joe_the_user 9y agoThe article distinguishes between likability and status, sure but the survival statistics come from a huge meta-analysis and the status versus likability distinction comes another set of studies (so it's combining two measurement processes, inherently harder than just using one). Given the overall reproduction crisis in psychology, that it turns out rather few studies are actually reliable, it seems entirely plausible that the average of the survival studies didn't control well for wealth and ended up with sociological factors and the status versus likability question is kind of an irrelevant extra.
- gaius 9y agowealth correlates with health? Except it doesn't! Why? Because the hidden variable is that wealthier people tend to be older! So you can easily construct a "proof" that the wealthier you are the more likely you are to die in the next few years...
- coldtea 9y ago>Even some adults appear obsessed with social media, tracking the number of retweets on their Twitter profiles or likes on Facebook "Some"? Where does the writer lives, on Mars?
- handedness 9y agoYes, some. I have no social media presence, nor do I care to.
- coldtea 9y agoThat just proves that you don't care -- not that those who care are few (which is a different assertion).
- true_religion 9y agoSome is an indeterminate amount. It can be anything from 1 to Infinite. The phrase "some X" does not connote that X are few, or many, merely that they are existent.
- coldtea 9y agoSome might be indeterminate, but when used as "even some adults appear ..." like in the parent comment it clearly implies it's a rare phenomenon. One would never write "even some adults appear to prefer spicy food" or "even some adults appear to be single" -- things that we know tons of people do.
- horsawlarway 9y agoLet me just remind you... since you sound like you care a lot/spend a lot of time on those services: if you're on those services you're encouraged to interact with other people who also care a lot/spend a lot of time on those services. You're self selecting for a group that re-enforces your opinion. As of 2016, only ~70 percent of adults in the US use facebook. Of those 70%, ~25% use it once a week or less. Those who don't care are MANY (probably most).
- faragon 9y agoTL;DR: all you need is love.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y agoThis is the same conclusion from the Grant Study, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study . The lead researcher George Vaillant put it as: "Happiness is love. Full stop."
- true_religion 9y agoIt's true. Most of my popularity comes from outliving my enemies. But in all seriousness, I am intrigued with the idea that merely by being popular, it will affect your DNA and turn on genes that correlate good health.
- ThrustVectoring 9y agoCausality is likely backwards. People who are damaged by their environment or by getting unfortunate genetics end up both becoming unpopular and lowering their life expectancy. IQ is likely also correlated for the same reason to both.
- autokad 9y agoi think that is generally true, but our frame of mind has huge impacts. I'm making up a contrived example, but someone who is not popular _could_ feel anxiety, sparking an immune response to nothing that results in allergies and other gene activations.
- sjg007 9y agoI would say stress, anxiety, depression
- empath75 9y agoDepression leads to a lot of early deaths.
- barrkel 9y agoStatus vs likability: "it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice".
- agumonkey 9y agoUnpopular live longer too, I believe the more hatred you have, the longer you live, and no this is not a post SW binge comment.
- ianamartin 9y agoI find it problematic that the only controls consistently accounted for are age, sex, and race. I think they are making too big a claim, and they would've generated a more useful insight if they were controlling for pathological behaviors as well. Are popular alcoholics likely to live longer? How about popular obese people? Is there, perhaps, a causal relation between being isolated/unpopular and pathological behaviors? The study itself (the pnas source--and by the way, thanks to the NY Times for linking to the source) smacks of p-value fishing combined with making the most grandiose claim you can based on those p-values. I'm not saying the paper is wrong in a mathematically provable way or that it couldn't be replicated. I'm saying that it isn't science that is meaningful or useful. It strikes me as resume-driven science. Scientific click-bait.
- bjourne 9y agoIt's a meta study. That means the authors themselves haven't gathered any data but used data from other studies and done some number crunching on it. There have already been hundreds of studies which have found links between loneliness factors and mortality. This study's authors contribution to the science is estimating the size, or strength, of that link.
- georgespencer 9y agoOr at least it feels that way.
- pasbesoin 9y agoI've found human lives to consist in significant part of feedback loops. Positive feedback loops, and negative feedback loops. A person receiving positive feedback tends to feel better, be more socially comfortable and engaging, and to receive resources that help them on their journey. This response and that assistance actually helps them become better. Better nutrition, more attentive and patient instruction. Etc. It's not just that things are done for them; it's that the feedback loops can improve their own performance. A person receiving negative feedback tends to feel worse, to be socially uncomfortable and isolated, and the be denied helpful resources and assistance. The negative feedback loop can result in that person withdrawing more and more. I've been there: Most people do not want to be where they are not welcome. It is one of the worst feelings. Negative feedback loops tend to spill over into one's physical health, and that unhealthiness furthers the rejection. It is not just the "big things." People with a popular appearance routinely get bigger servings, more engaged and attentive care. More respect. It's pervasive. Pay attention. You'll see it all around you, every day, everywhere. I've been burned a few times by "attractive" people who deliberately used this to their advantage. And I've been slowly figuring out, at an emotional, "feel it" level -- as opposed to intellectual -- why some people outright pre-emptively reject attractive people. They've learned a life lesson: Interacting with those people too often places them on the losing side. Whether they are being deliberately used by those people, or just because of the comparative way they are treated by surrounding people.
- psyc 9y agoI would like to paste this comment everywhere the causality of depression is discussed.
- jjtheblunt 9y agoWhat an amazingly perceptive description, seriously well thought out. Truly impressed.
- mncharity 9y ago> feedback loops That's the basis of social-belonging and other mindset interventions.[1] For example, when you encounters difficulty as a freshman in college, do you think "I don't belong here", or "everyone has difficulties - I can get help, work hard, and succeed, like I've done in the past". Students who feel like they belong, build stronger support networks, more readily get help, feel better, and so. Both narratives then do feedback, and outcomes diverge. So surprisingly small interventions, to nudge the initial interpretation, like an hour in high school, or an essay at the beginning of a course, can have a surprisingly large impact. I wonder if the future will look back our current lack of mental hygiene interventions, the way we now look back at the 1800's lack of physical hygiene interventions. Something like, well, it took a couple of decades, but NYC finally stopped politically-connected brewers from killing hundreds of children with adulterated milk from sick cows.[2] [1] http://gregorywalton-stanford.weebly.com/papers.html http://gregorywalton-stanford.weebly.com/papers.html [2] https://www.google.com/#q=swill+milk https://www.google.com/#q=swill+milk
- subru 9y agoI have considered suicide for the past 30 years. I tried very hard to build a life in the confines of whatever limitations I've been given and/or created for myself. I determine that the nature of humanity is to seek power. This study reminds me of why this world is total bullshit. I've notified to be part of this world anymore. I'm connected into this universe more than I ever have been. There is a black hole awaiting me
- reaperhulk 9y agoPlease don't commit suicide. You and the world will both be worse off. If you need to talk to someone about it 1-800-273-8255 is available 24 hours a day.
- braveo 9y agowhy? If I experienced a major life changing event, I'd commit suicide. I refuse to live in pain every day, or lose my independence. It's a completely rational decision, you don't know their life.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- sethjgore 9y agoHave you considered the thinking beyond your own blip of life? The death of other, does not signify anything. It is merely death. It is the failure of the conscious mind to see death beyond its facial value. Death. It is freeing.
- bitexploder 9y agoI want to say something meaningful to you, but I am not sure what. I don't disagree about the end. But... Something about being alive. The possibility. It is more than than the end. It is a small candle, but... It is still a light. It might be our nature, but we can still decide. We have that ability.
- Moshe_Silnorin 9y ago
- davidjnelson 9y agoRelationships stemming from likability have more health benefits than status: "Yet this same research reveals that there is more than one type of popularity, and most of us may be investing in the wrong kind. Likability reflects kindness, benevolent leadership and selfless, prosocial behavior. Research suggests that this form of popularity offers lifelong advantages, and leads to relationships that confer the greatest health benefits. Likability is markedly different from status — an ultimately less satisfying form of popularity that reflects visibility, influence, power and prestige. Status can be quantified by social media followers; likability cannot."
- roesel 9y agoDo people who are popular live longer? Or do people who think are popular live longer? In other words, is it enough to think you are popular to affect your DNA?
- petraeus 9y agoPopular people are more affluent, affluent people have greater resources to expending on their quality of life, people with better QOLs live longer, thus popular people live longer? Misinterpreting cause and correlation, am I doing this correctly?