←back to thread

U.S. hits new low in World Happiness Report

(www.axios.com)
219 points surprisetalk | 2 comments | 25 Sep 25 20:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.427s | source
Show context
dang ◴[25 Sep 25 22:05 UTC] No.45379783[source]▶
I believe that these self-reported surveys are partly testing the cultural acceptability of complaining—that is, the more unacceptable it is to complain, the happier one comes out in the scoring. How well that corresponds to 'actual' happiness is, of course, a different question.

I base this on experience with some of the 'happy' cultures on the list. However, I would be interested in knowing whether HN members from Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and the Netherlands (to name the top 5) agree with this concept or not.

replies(9): >>45379870 #>>45379925 #>>45380021 #>>45380040 #>>45380087 #>>45380127 #>>45380239 #>>45380280 #>>45380432 #
1. 7952 ◴[25 Sep 25 22:18 UTC] No.45379925[source]▶
I guess a cultural willingness to complain could also have a feedback effect on the 'actual' happiness.
replies(1): >>45380012 #
2. paxys ◴[25 Sep 25 22:25 UTC] No.45380012[source]▶
Exactly. This is like saying "the people aren't unhappy, they just think they are unhappy". Well if they think they are unhappy then they are unhappy.