In the novel The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway describes the two stages of every bankruptcy: “‘Two ways’, Mike said. ‘Gradually and then suddenly’” (56). Hemingway’s description of bankruptcy closely reflects the rise of social media as it has become the primarily medium of interaction within society. Subsequently, there have been questions raised about how this radical shift in interactions affects the means of achieving a happy life. Within academia, happiness is described as a sense of well-being and is generally associated with a combination of one’s state of mind and genetics (Lyubomirsky). These genetic effects are culminated in the term “happiness set point”, a natural proclivity towards a certain level of happiness. Today, both …show more content…
Even further, Adam Piore of the online magazine, Nautilus, claims that social media improves social relationships by creating new mediums of communication. Though there is polarization in how social media affects users’ ability to achieve happy lives, the rise of social media refutes Sonja Lyubomirsky’s perspective on happiness, which attributes happiness to primarily a person’s genetics. The effects that social media has on users’ happiness, depending on the choices of the users, demonstrate that Lyubomirsky underestimates the effects that circumstances and personal choices have on happiness. To begin, the existence of social media platforms, and the subsequent opportunities they create refutes Lyubomirsky by demonstrating the importance that societal circumstances have on happiness. For example, when describing the Happiness Twins study from the University of Minnesota, Lyubomirsky claims this study concludes that “…the average happiness of your identical twins is a much more powerful clue to your happiness than all the facts and events of your life! (Lyubomirsky 188). Lyubomirsky also later advises the readers that “we are also unlikely to find lasting happiness by changing our life circumstances” (195). Lyubomirsky’s portrayal of the complexities of happiness favor a deterministic view that implies that humans have limited control over their happiness. However, research from Robert E. Kraut finds that regular
Freitas, Donna. “The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost”. Oxford University Press, 2016. Ebook.
Lyubomirsky defines happiness as the “experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile” (184). She challenges the myths that people can find happiness by changing their circumstances and that people either are “born happy or unhappy” (186). Happiness is not something that can be found or something that not everyone can have. People make their own happiness, despite the difficulties they may face. Happiness comes by “choosing to change and manage your state of mind” (185). Lyubomirsky gives cases of people who are happy even though they suffer from losses and setbacks. These are the people whose circumstances should make them unhappy, but their intentional actions bring them joy. She also gives cases of people who have not suffered any major losses but are still unhappy because they may see events negatively and feel helpless before them. Lyubomirsky asserts that “changes in our circumstances, no matter how positive and stunning, actually have little bearing on our well-being” (186). Even though a person’s circumstances may be positive, those circumstances do not make them happy. Lyubomirsky uses a Subjective Happiness Scale to measure happiness, which takes the average of numerical answers to four questions. She argues that in order to become happier, “you need to determine your present personal happiness level, which will provide your first estimate of your happiness
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference” (Lyubomirsky, 194). There are certain things in life that are uncontrollable and there is nothing anyone can do to change that, however there is a handful of things that are by choice. In her essay, How Happy Are You and Why?, Sonja Lyubomirsky proposes that everyone has a “genetically determined predisposition for happiness (or unhappiness) accounts for the differences between” each person (186). Lyubomirsky theorizes that everyone has a “set point” that is predetermined by genetics which represents the level of happiness a person experiences. In an attempt to offer people a way to gauge their own “set point,” she suggests a questionnaire that she has created to determine this number. The problem with this theory is that the questionnaire is subjective and reliant on circumstances. Her argument is problematic because she does not account for both happiness and
Begley argues that although everyone’s goal in life is to be happy, “too much happiness might not be such a good thing” (555). Begley believes that happiness is overrated and the media is forcing people to be happy against their will. For example, the media forces people to be happy against their will by advertising their self-help books, magazine articles and motivational speakers. The media also promotes the pharmaceutical companies that claim they are “working on a new drug to make [people] happier” (556). Begley also states that research has concluded “that being happier is not always better” and “the
Attention Materials: Many times I have wondered what is true happiness. Is there such thing as true happiness? Can it even be attained if there is such a thing? Is it more of fulfilling desires, or satisfying psychological needs? Every person attempts to realize happiness in its fullest essence. It seems like today people are too busy trying to get rich. Nowadays it is believed that happiness lies in that new mansion, or a nice Ferrari. People are mistakingly assuming that wealth will bring to them a personal significance in which they will achieve happiness.
A study at Stanford University shows that people tend to “underestimate how many negative experiences their peers are having” and “overestimate how much fun those same peers are having” (592). Social Media lets people decide what they want their life to look like and how they want to portray themselves to others. The platforms allow one to put together bits and pieces of ones life in order to create a puzzle of optimism to hide the sadness they don’t want to show the world. “The site’s very design- the presence of a ‘Like’ button, without a corresponding ‘hate button’- reinforces a kind of upbeat spin doctoring” (592). Copeland says that even the design of the social media platforms encourages putting a positive spin on things that aren’t so attractive to the people on the other side of the computer. “The human habit of overestimating other peoples happiness is nothing new, of course” (591). While people will always look at others and see their happiness, and never their pain, Social networking gives a bigger platform for people to do so. In an everyday conversation at the grocery store, people tend to focus on the positive. It is no different on Facebook, other than the positive spin is done in larger
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” –Abraham Lincoln.
The most universal goal every human has in common is the pursuit of happiness or “creation or construction of happiness” (Achor, 78). To be able to fulfill this wish of becoming happy, people often think the key to achieving happiness is success. In the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he debunks this theory of success leading to happiness by illustrating the reverse theory of success. Through dozens of studies and experiments as forms of evidence, the author argues that an individual needs to achieve happiness in order to be truly successful. Achor 's argument is valid in that happiness should come before success because there is a clear advantage to being successful in an individual’s work life, personal sphere, and liveliness if they are happy first and foremost.
In an unofficial poll of students at State University, I found that of the fifty-eight students and one professor, males and females of several ethnic backgrounds and age groups, that I asked the question "What is happiness to you?", all of them had very different physical, intellectual, or emotional motivator for their happiness. Only the
At first glance, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises is an over-dramatized love story of bohemian characters, but with further analysis, the book provides a crucial insight into the effects of World War I on the generation who participated in it. Hemingway’s novel follows a group of expatriates as they travel Europe and experience the post war age of the early 1900’s. The protagonist is Jake Barnes, an American war veteran who lives in Paris and is working as a journalist. Jake was injured during the War and has remained impotent ever since. His love interest, Lady Brett Ashley, is an alcoholic englishwoman with severe promiscuity, which is representative of women and the sexual freedom that emerged during the Progressive Era. Jake and Brett
The imagery of bulls and steers pervades Hemmingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises. Bullfighting is a major plot concern and is very important to the characters. The narrator physically resembles a steer due to the nature of his injury. Mike identifies Cohn as a steer in conversation because of his inability to control Brett sexually. Brett falls for a bullfighter, who is a symbol of virility and passion. However, there is a deeper level to the bull-steer dichotomy than their respective sexual traits. The imagery associated with bulls and steers is more illustrative than their possession or lack of testicles. In their roles and in the images associated with them, bulls are glorious,
Disillusionment does not merely occur in only novels; every single individual to walk the Earth will experience mental displeasure at some point within their lives. Nevertheless, many choose to let unfortunate events circle within their souls and become encrypted into their memory. Once this happens, the role of aimlessness takes its course, adverse fate reigns, and the feeling of disenchantment dwells in the mind. Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, grasps this very subject in a subliminal way; one must accurately analyze Hemingway’s somber tone and sparse writing style in order to find the hidden symbolism and themes captured within this literary work. His protagonist, Jake Barnes, has certainly experienced prodigious pain, but
While Anna Akbari author of the essay “A Personal Guide to Digital Happiness” affirms, “One question I keep coming back to: How does technology affect our happiness? As Albert Einstein remarked, "Why does this magnificent applied science which saves work and makes life easier bring us so little happiness? The simple answer runs: Because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it." (2) So how do we make sense of this technology and can it make us happier people? Akbari expounds, that she started this quest to find happiness in the digital age with online dating. One of her dates was with an anorexic emo guy with pink hair and full of angst. On their first date, he informed her that he was “kind of a depressive guy”, so she tried to empathized, stating that she had people close to her who have suffered as well and that she understood. “He then looked at me and stated firmly, with disdain, "No. You cannot understand. I've met people like you. You're one of those happy people." I've never forgotten that scathing accusation -- that I had the nerve to be happy. I'd never thought of people in those terms: "happy" or "not." Since that date I've grown increasingly obsessed with the concept of happiness, and judging from the abundance of literature being published on the topic, I'm not the only one: there are books to tell you how to be happier at work, how to
When you hear the word happiness, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of material possessions like designer clothes and accessories, the newest iPhone with the highest possible storage capacity, or a shiny red supercar? Do you think the amount of money you have or your current financial status has an effect on how happy you are? Plenty of college students, myself included, would associate happiness with possessing items like these or just having a lot of money in general. In today’s society, one common belief about social class is that the richer and more money or things that one has, the happier this will make them. This belief is reinforced by countless advertisements we see and hear everywhere, whether that be on
As technology progress, humans evolve to the advanced technology and enhance our lives via technology. We connect to our families, friends and others through social media such as Facebook. Social media takes up a huge part in our lives. Social media infest us with information that are relevant and irrelevant to us. Marry Marrow wrote, “It was Facebook that changed the face of e-communication; in fact, it was the first electronic social media” (para 1). She assumes that Facebook is playing a huge role in electronic communication. In the journalist Maria Konnikova, “How Facebook makes us unhappy?”, Konnikova divulges many aspects of people on social media through researching and experience, and finds how social makes us unhappy. I agree with Konnikova findings after reading her article. In addition, she concludes that if you are engaged, active, and creative you will not sorrowful on Social media, however if you are passively browsing and defuse to engage, you will be depressed.