Happiness
Part I:
What makes me happy?
There are many things that make me happy: spending time with my family and friends, going on walks, being outdoors, playing guitar (by myself as well as with others), playing video games with my friends, and playing Lacrosse.
When am I the happiest?
I think that I am happiest when I am with my friends and family. I am a relatively extraverted person so I enjoy having the company of other people, especially those who I care about. Engaging in group activities, and just enjoying time with my friends is one of the times in which I am happiest. I have a group of friends of which I find a very strong sense of community, so I know that I am in a safe environment when I am around them.
Do I think the National Happiness Index is a good idea?
I do think it is a good idea. Happiness is an important part of everyday life and I think that it would be helpful to the government of people to understand the general mood of their citizens. There are subjects where the government can help such as, making people more happy about the ecological footprint that their nation leaves, or the certain political conflicts, however, I think that there are places in which mere governmental recognition would serve to be more beneficial than intervention. These topics might be about mental health or individual wellbeing.
What is the best way to measure National Happiness?
I think that creating a survey that consists of questions like. "what are your day to day concerns?", "how is your health, how is your family's health?", "are you happy about your living standards and conditions?", and perhaps "between a scale of 1-10, one being very unhappy and barely getting by in life, and ten being extremely happy and having more than everything you need to get by, how would you rank your happiness?". This type of survey could be distributed to different groups of people in a country like the low-income population, the working-class population, and the well-to-do population.
Then finding the average of each group to determine the average happiness of each class. This information may allow the government to identify key issues for each class and address them to improve happiness.
Part II:
What does the story, "I've Been Called a Luddite" imply about technology and happiness, do I agree with it?
The story I've Been Called a Luddite, written by Kurt Vonnegut, conveys a strong negative attitude towards technology. He speaks of one instance in which he goes about producing a letter without having to use technology. He uses a typewriter to create his document, and goes out of the house to purchase an envelope, and then goes to the post office to purchase stamps. Throughout the story, he explains certain items that are common knowledge such as a paperclip. He uses this way of speaking to in a way taunt the audience by implicitly saying, "This isn't technology! It still exists, do you remember what it is?" Kurt tries to show that a process without technology, is one in which you must actively go out and interact with others. He explains it as though it is an adventure with a to-do list. On his trip to each place, he meets people and talks to them. This is something that he claims technology lacks.
What makes me happy?
There are many things that make me happy: spending time with my family and friends, going on walks, being outdoors, playing guitar (by myself as well as with others), playing video games with my friends, and playing Lacrosse.
When am I the happiest?
I think that I am happiest when I am with my friends and family. I am a relatively extraverted person so I enjoy having the company of other people, especially those who I care about. Engaging in group activities, and just enjoying time with my friends is one of the times in which I am happiest. I have a group of friends of which I find a very strong sense of community, so I know that I am in a safe environment when I am around them.
Do I think the National Happiness Index is a good idea?
I do think it is a good idea. Happiness is an important part of everyday life and I think that it would be helpful to the government of people to understand the general mood of their citizens. There are subjects where the government can help such as, making people more happy about the ecological footprint that their nation leaves, or the certain political conflicts, however, I think that there are places in which mere governmental recognition would serve to be more beneficial than intervention. These topics might be about mental health or individual wellbeing.
What is the best way to measure National Happiness?
I think that creating a survey that consists of questions like. "what are your day to day concerns?", "how is your health, how is your family's health?", "are you happy about your living standards and conditions?", and perhaps "between a scale of 1-10, one being very unhappy and barely getting by in life, and ten being extremely happy and having more than everything you need to get by, how would you rank your happiness?". This type of survey could be distributed to different groups of people in a country like the low-income population, the working-class population, and the well-to-do population.
Then finding the average of each group to determine the average happiness of each class. This information may allow the government to identify key issues for each class and address them to improve happiness.
Part II:
What does the story, "I've Been Called a Luddite" imply about technology and happiness, do I agree with it?
The story I've Been Called a Luddite, written by Kurt Vonnegut, conveys a strong negative attitude towards technology. He speaks of one instance in which he goes about producing a letter without having to use technology. He uses a typewriter to create his document, and goes out of the house to purchase an envelope, and then goes to the post office to purchase stamps. Throughout the story, he explains certain items that are common knowledge such as a paperclip. He uses this way of speaking to in a way taunt the audience by implicitly saying, "This isn't technology! It still exists, do you remember what it is?" Kurt tries to show that a process without technology, is one in which you must actively go out and interact with others. He explains it as though it is an adventure with a to-do list. On his trip to each place, he meets people and talks to them. This is something that he claims technology lacks.
I agree with the message of his story in that in many cases technology does lack personal interactions with other people, however, I believe that technology can also play an important role in that. It may not be that the interactions are in person, but it is still important to be able to communicate to others quickly, rather than having to wait for your message to be processed through the postal service. Being able to communicate quickly with someone you care about who is in another country is important. In fact, Kurt Vonnegut uses technology in his story. He calls Carol in Woodstock. If he wanted a perfect story without technology, he should've done the same process for sending Carol a letter asking if he could then send his papers. I think that this shows that technology is very hard to avoid, but it can also be used minimally so that you can still maintain personal interactions with others.
Part III:
The New York Times article "But Will it Make You Happy" implies that spending money on experiences that can be recorded as memories will bring people more happiness than purchasing consumer goods. It talks about how an experience may not be perfect, but when one remembers the time they had, they will visualize it as a perfect experience. ""Trips aren’t all perfect," she notes, "but we remember them as perfect."". This shows that spending money on an experience that may not always be perfect will still be recorded in your mind a perfect and great time. Purchasing consumer goods will just be used every now and then, and not really bring genuine happiness.
The text references "Keeping up with the Jones". This phrase means that consumers who continue to spend money on products as soon as they make it, will not be happy. They should not try to "one-up" their peers, (the Joneses), but spend their money on things that would truly make them happy. I think that this is a very interesting way to look at life. Walmart is reaping the benefits of this idea of buying experiences instead of normal consumer goods. They are placing trending experience related items in one area so that the customers will have access to all the items in one place, increasing their desire to buy the experience. "AT the height of the recession in 2008, Wal-Mart Stores realized that consumers were “cocooning” — vacationing in their yards, eating more dinners at home, organizing family game nights. So it responded by grouping items in its stores that would turn any den into an at-home movie theater or transform a backyard into a slice of the Catskills. Wal-Mart wasn’t just selling barbecues and board games. It was selling experiences.".
I think that living a minimal life is a good and healthy idea. I often find myself spending money when I get it, however, I agree that using it on items that will give you an experience is important. Most of my purchases are items that I can use for a long time and that will allow me to have experiences of my own.
Part IV:
I think something that really represents happiness for me is the song "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes. It is a really important song to me because it was the first song I learned with my best friend. The lyrics of the song are very meaningful and its a very sweet song. I relate to it because it talks about someone who has an experience that is so important it makes them feel as though they had just woken up and that they are, now, really living. I lyrics do apply to my life because I too care about someone in the way that Conor Oberst, the songwriter, cares about someone else. Of course, it may not be the exact same way, but the lyrics really capture the happiness. My favorite line is, "This is the first day of my life. I'm glad I didn't die before I met you. But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you, and I'd probably be happy." It's hard for me to pick just one part of the song that is my favorite because the whole song really speaks to me. Along with the lyrics, the guitar work is really nice so its a combination of things that I really enjoy. I have performed a cover of this song several times at concerts, and I always enjoy it.
(Obert, Conor. "First Day Of My Life." I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, March 1, 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwFS69nA-1w)
The text references "Keeping up with the Jones". This phrase means that consumers who continue to spend money on products as soon as they make it, will not be happy. They should not try to "one-up" their peers, (the Joneses), but spend their money on things that would truly make them happy. I think that this is a very interesting way to look at life. Walmart is reaping the benefits of this idea of buying experiences instead of normal consumer goods. They are placing trending experience related items in one area so that the customers will have access to all the items in one place, increasing their desire to buy the experience. "AT the height of the recession in 2008, Wal-Mart Stores realized that consumers were “cocooning” — vacationing in their yards, eating more dinners at home, organizing family game nights. So it responded by grouping items in its stores that would turn any den into an at-home movie theater or transform a backyard into a slice of the Catskills. Wal-Mart wasn’t just selling barbecues and board games. It was selling experiences.".
I think that living a minimal life is a good and healthy idea. I often find myself spending money when I get it, however, I agree that using it on items that will give you an experience is important. Most of my purchases are items that I can use for a long time and that will allow me to have experiences of my own.
Part IV:
I think something that really represents happiness for me is the song "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes. It is a really important song to me because it was the first song I learned with my best friend. The lyrics of the song are very meaningful and its a very sweet song. I relate to it because it talks about someone who has an experience that is so important it makes them feel as though they had just woken up and that they are, now, really living. I lyrics do apply to my life because I too care about someone in the way that Conor Oberst, the songwriter, cares about someone else. Of course, it may not be the exact same way, but the lyrics really capture the happiness. My favorite line is, "This is the first day of my life. I'm glad I didn't die before I met you. But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you, and I'd probably be happy." It's hard for me to pick just one part of the song that is my favorite because the whole song really speaks to me. Along with the lyrics, the guitar work is really nice so its a combination of things that I really enjoy. I have performed a cover of this song several times at concerts, and I always enjoy it.
(Obert, Conor. "First Day Of My Life." I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, March 1, 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwFS69nA-1w)
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