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Could it be that in the surveys which measure happiness , more social people are more likely to say they're happy? Because they talk to their peers about their

Could it be that in the surveys which measure happiness , more social people are more likely to say they're happy? Because they talk to their peers about their lives and are more likely to present more presentable aspects of their lives. With people with less social contact, maybe they don't reorganize their memories with respect to social visibility and just by intensity or time spent in that experience. There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied.

throw0101c 3y ago
> Could it be that in the surveys which measure happiness , more social people are more likely to say they're happy? In addition to surveys, there are interviews at regular intervals, so observations of the participants are also used as data points. > There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. Empirical evidence does not support this. There are such things as 'set points' of happiness: * https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/meditation-for-modern-life/201709/your-set-point-for-happiness https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/meditation-for-moder... Some folks have lower, and some higher, 'base levels' of happiness. It seems that some people are / can be 'inherently' happier than others.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  Personally I've found that joy cometh before a fall. Literally. My worst rollerblading accidents were when I was feeling joy (those hand guards do not protect against broken fingers). As such joy is not an emotion I actively cultivate, and when it happens I take it as reason to be wary.
siftrics 3y ago
> There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. This is not true at all, in my opinion. I used to believe everyone has approximately the same life satisfaction after their needs are met. I've always been quite happy, but I became much, much happier after I moved across the country and made really close friends with whom I spend a lot of time. Meanwhile, my old roommate still spends 8-5 in the office and then comes home and plays League of Legends. There is no way our life satisfaction is the same. Don't get me wrong, I was pretty happy going into the office and seeing my friends for an hour or two each day. But now that I have a life with much more time spent with deep friendships, I see that life satisfaction is not zero sum. You can be a certain amount of happy. And you can be even happier than that at no cost.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
coldtea 3y ago
>With people with less social contact, maybe they don't reorganize their memories with respect to social visibility and just by intensity or time spent in that experience. That wouldn't correlate with smaller lifespan and worse health outcomes for people with less social contact pretty consistently observed (filtered for objections like "they have less social contact because they are sick, not the other way around"). >There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. In other studies, above a certain level like starvation and homelessness, "basic necessities" are not even the biggest factor in happiness. Meaning, social circle, and status are.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  > That wouldn't correlate with smaller lifespan and worse health outcomes for people with less social contact pretty consistently observed You didn't filter for "friend noticed there was something physically wrong and got them to go to a doctor". Plenty of people's lives have been saved, or have been made healthier, because of such interventions.
efields 3y ago
> There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. n = 1 here, all basic needs met… still working on the happiness thing

throw0101c 3y ago

> Could it be that in the surveys which measure happiness , more social people are more likely to say they're happy? In addition to surveys, there are interviews at regular intervals, so observations of the participants are also used as data points. > There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. Empirical evidence does not support this. There are such things as 'set points' of happiness: * https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/meditation-for-modern-life/201709/your-set-point-for-happiness https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/meditation-for-moder... Some folks have lower, and some higher, 'base levels' of happiness. It seems that some people are / can be 'inherently' happier than others.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
Personally I've found that joy cometh before a fall. Literally. My worst rollerblading accidents were when I was feeling joy (those hand guards do not protect against broken fingers). As such joy is not an emotion I actively cultivate, and when it happens I take it as reason to be wary.

siftrics 3y ago

> There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. This is not true at all, in my opinion. I used to believe everyone has approximately the same life satisfaction after their needs are met. I've always been quite happy, but I became much, much happier after I moved across the country and made really close friends with whom I spend a lot of time. Meanwhile, my old roommate still spends 8-5 in the office and then comes home and plays League of Legends. There is no way our life satisfaction is the same. Don't get me wrong, I was pretty happy going into the office and seeing my friends for an hour or two each day. But now that I have a life with much more time spent with deep friendships, I see that life satisfaction is not zero sum. You can be a certain amount of happy. And you can be even happier than that at no cost.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

coldtea 3y ago

>With people with less social contact, maybe they don't reorganize their memories with respect to social visibility and just by intensity or time spent in that experience. That wouldn't correlate with smaller lifespan and worse health outcomes for people with less social contact pretty consistently observed (filtered for objections like "they have less social contact because they are sick, not the other way around"). >There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. In other studies, above a certain level like starvation and homelessness, "basic necessities" are not even the biggest factor in happiness. Meaning, social circle, and status are.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
> That wouldn't correlate with smaller lifespan and worse health outcomes for people with less social contact pretty consistently observed You didn't filter for "friend noticed there was something physically wrong and got them to go to a doctor". Plenty of people's lives have been saved, or have been made healthier, because of such interventions.

efields 3y ago

> There is a theory that I'd like to believe that everyone is equally happy over a period of time after basic necessities of life are satisfied. n = 1 here, all basic needs met… still working on the happiness thing