Global happiness survey: China first, South Korea last

According to the "Global Times", the polling agency Ipsos (France) recently released the 2023 Global Happiness Survey. The results showed that 73% of people around the world said they are very happy now.

The statistical period of this survey is: December 22, 2022 to January 6, 2023. The survey involves 32 countries and regions. The happiness index of each country increased by 6% year-on-year, which is higher than the beginning of the epidemic. It was 10 percentage points higher in August 2020. This is also the second consecutive year that global happiness has increased.

Among all countries and regions, China has the highest happiness index! 91% of people said they were "very or quite happy"; Hungary had the lowest happiness index, only 50%. South Korea, second to last, has a ratio of 57%.

However, from the comments of Chinese netizens on the Internet, we can see that many people say "I am among the 9%"-could it be that such a survey by a world-renowned polling organization is so inconsistent? Is China realistic? Obviously not!

I believe that as a French polling organization, they do not have the natural impulse and credible motivation to make false claims in order to praise China. Therefore, the author is still "not afraid to use the best good-faith guess". This result is roughly the same. More realistic.

First, the survey statistics period is "December 22, 2022 to January 6, 2023" - this is after China's epidemic situation was relaxed. Compared with the previous three years, I believe this The happiness of Chinese people will inevitably double, and this major factor should not be ignored!

In fact, from this point alone, we can know why people have a sense of happiness - all happiness or pain in the world is actually caused by comparison!

If there is no reference that can be used as a comparison, just like we cannot find the movement of objects, there will be no relative increase or decrease, rise or fall, more or less, strong or weak, positive or negative. , exists or does not exist... Therefore, it is impossible to discover and feel whether one is happier or more miserable.

So, why are Chinese people now said to have the highest happiness index in the world? ——Actually, this is how I feel in comparison!

When making comparisons, there are vertical comparisons and horizontal comparisons, that is, comparisons with others and comparisons with one's own past. Comparing yourself with others can give you a sense of superiority, self-esteem and pride, but the real and deeper sense of happiness is actually mainly derived from comparing yourself with your own past.

This is also the reason why South Korea, which is recognized as a developed country, has the second lowest happiness level - it is not that their economy is underdeveloped, but that there is a big gap between them and their past self. The reason why African countries, which are extremely poor in the world, still have higher happiness than South Korea.

For example, when you have a millionaire, will you feel happier if you compare your wealth with that of a billionaire? Or do you feel more happy and accomplished than when you were a poor boy in the past and now earn 100,000 yuan a year? Obviously it is the latter. When comparing with your past, you need to have a stronger, more real and more tangible sense of happiness!

As Chinese, if we compare with other countries, our economic strength is now known as "the second in the world". Although this is only a symbolic symbol, it still shows that China is entering the middle stage. Income-income countries, then, compared with many countries around the world that are still in poverty, it should go without saying that the happiness of the Chinese people is higher than theirs - and this is only a comparison in terms of materialism.

In fact, the acquisition of happiness is not only material satisfaction, but also higher-level enrichment, such as education, culture, realization of life value and other spiritual fields. After people achieve relative satisfaction in material life, they still need to pursue more elements and connotations of happiness.

Today’s Chinese people can be said to have had the opportunity to receive education from an early age. The enrichment and improvement of knowledge have also enriched the content of the happiness of the Chinese people - if we still stay in the situation where most of them are based on material things. As the initial satisfaction of happiness, it can only be said that our happiness index is too simple. It is not happiness in the true sense of life, but can only be said to be the most basic first step to happiness in life. .

However, compared with poorer countries, the happiness index of Chinese people is higher, but why is the happiness index higher than that of developed countries? ——The factors here are also very complicated.

For example, people in developed countries pursue spiritual connotations that are different from those of Chinese people. For example, people in developed Western countries pursue more open personality and personal freedom - "If you don't have freedom, you'll rather have freedom." The cultural thinking of "die" is different from the cultural thinking and environment in which Chinese people pay more attention to the spirit of collectivism and are relatively willing to sacrifice personal freedom.

Therefore, in both Chinese and Western cultural environments, there are many differences in the reality and feelings of happiness pursued in the material or spiritual realm. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the happiness index of Chinese people is high. It must mean that the happiness index of Westerners has declined, and it means that their lives must be worse than ours.

The most personal experience of happiness comes from self-comparison - for example, comparing today's new China with the old society, and comparing with the difficult period in its own development process in the past, it is obvious that Only the material life has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Even if today's young people have no personal experience with this, they can find coordinates and references for comparison from the older generations and from the unchangeable history - "If you don't compare, you don't know, but when you compare, you will be shocked." , through such a comparison, we can know how amazing China's development is today, and how happy people are compared to themselves in the past!

At the same time, as China advances and improves in the field of spiritual civilization, our spiritual levels such as security, personal value realization, and meaning of life pursuits have improved and enriched, which I believe is also the happiness of the Chinese people. An important factor in the increasing sense of security - compare with the frequent shootings in the United States, and here we will be confiscated and punished if we use a slingshot to shoot birds. How strong is the sense of security in comparison!

Also, precisely because of the continuous strength of the motherland, China has been in a peaceful period without war for decades. This is also an important prerequisite and a major factor in ensuring that the Chinese people have a sense of security and happiness.

Of course, human desires can never be satisfied—unless they die. Therefore, when each of us faces study pressure, work pressure, mortgage pressure, marriage pressure, and other setbacks and difficulties that everyone will encounter in life, happiness often gives way to " "A sense of pain" - In fact, when people forget to compare with others and compare with themselves, it will be easier to feel that "I am the other 9% of people in China."

If you don’t believe it, immigrate to a poor African country, or try living in Ukraine, Syria, or Myanmar!