more money, less happiness

According to a study by three prominent economists, Americans have a higher standard of living today but they are little or no happier than previous generations. The study is based on a survey of 4,000 Americans, and is reviewed in a column in the Wall Street Journal. In a somewhat surprising statement -for the Journal that is- the reviewing author states "If your income doubled, you would initially be delighted. But research suggest you would quickly get used to all that extra money." I am happy that others confirm what I have said and written about in this blog many times. You adapt and then things are the same.

Back to the study though. What the authors found was that so called "engaging leisure and spiritual activities, " which includes hanging out with friends, exercising, listening to music, reading a book, going to a party -or to a church, etc. are key to happiness. These are the components of happiness that you can change. Other components such as your basic disposition, or your life circumstances also matter but you have far less flexibility here. Furthermore we can safely assume that these have not changed much from one generation to the next. So it is all in the engaging activities. The authors also call these "things you choose to do, rather than have to do." It does not include being a couch potato and sitting in front of a TV munching chips. That activity lacks "engagement" and is devoid of "spirituality."

Perhaps surprisingly, given all the attention paid to the rat race, today's men and women have more leisure time than their parents or grandparents had. So they have the chance to spend more time in these "engaging leisure and spiritual activities." But they do not. Rather than exercise, they prefer to lie around and watch TV. What they also don't do as much is socializing. And that is no doubt a direct result of suburbia. People in cities are forced to socialize. They are also forced to walk more. That keeps them skinnier and happier it seems.

Today's generation lives in large homes that separate individuals and pull them away from each other. Everyone has their own room, their own bathroom, and some couples even have their own bedrooms. That is what you get when you live in a 5,000 sq ft home. You have to "use" all that space. As a result you never get to see the other inhabitants. Instead you watch your own TV in your own room. No more rewarding social interaction. And with everyone having a different schedule, chances are you don't even eat meals together anymore. Not to mention that everyone has their own car.

But it does not stop there. Not only is your house a huge vacuum that you fill with stuff, it also sits isolated on a cul-de-sac or other street that leads to nowhere. There is no place to walk to. No place to interact with others, except maybe the brief hello in the driveway, when you happen to bump into the neighbor. That is, if you are still on speaking terms with the neighbor.

And the rest of suburbia is no different. You go to the mall, or better you drive there. Here again, few chances to interact other than to talk to the shopkeepers who do not want to talk but rather sell you stuff. Many malls are laid out with the parking spaces in the center, so you can park in front of the store and haul huge loads of goodies into your car, before you drive off to the next one, across the parking lot. Again so many missed opportunities.

Not to mention all that time you spend alone in your car. Listening to your stereo. No people to talk to though. No wonder you see so many drivers having conversations with themselves. And those big cars give you that nice sense of isolation. On top of it all but utterly alone. Alone and exposed to commercials. The same happens with TVs. TVs not only make you lazy, they constantly make you feel inadequate. The barrage of commercials telling you that you need this or that gadget to be happy, that you need to go eat here, or buy a new car, definitely takes its toll. And it isn't just the commercials anymore. Product placement is everywhere. All your favorite characters drink this or that soft drink, drive that new car, etc. etc.

It is time to wake up America. Your unsustainable life-style is not just destructive to the environment. It is bad for your health, and it appears to your happiness as well. Time to turn off the TV, ditch the car, and go live in a normal sized house in a nice neighborhood, where you can walk to the store.