A British study has found that what makes people happy in this modern era is leisure and what made people happy in previous eras have changed significantly in this generation.
The study focused on the people of Bolton in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. In that era, economic security was regarded as the key to being happy. During the Second World War, the town of Bolton faced depression and battling mass unemployment, and to them economic security was what they needed to be happy.
However, in this modern era, what makes people happy is quite different.
226 people were asked to help compile a happiness index by rating the importance of ten factors ranging from beauty to more security and religion.
Security, knowledge (i.e. education) and religion were the three most important aspects of happiness for the Boltonians back in 1938.
Last year, psychologists Sandie McHugh and Professor Jerome Carson from Bolton University attempted to recreate the study by collecting the views of 480 locals, via the Bolton News, on questions that mirrored those from 1938 as closely as possible.
In this modern era, good humour and leisure make up the top two, followed by security. Religion has fallen from third to bottom place.
In 2014, 77 per cent answered ‘No’ to the question ‘Do you think your happiness is directly linked to material possessions and wealth?’ Although security had been highly rated in 1938, wealth by itself was not.
According to Miss McHugh, “today we enjoy a material standard of living…that people in 1938 would find astonishing,”
‘People want the feel-good factor for themselves and their families, they want more smiling and laughter in their lives, which surprised us.’ She said.
Phil