Money Can't Buy Happiness
In this day and age, money seems to be the one thing that people think is one of the best things in life. It seems to be the obsession of everyone, and we see the stars of our time obsessing over it, and people flaunting it everywhere. Over the course of my research, I have found that it doesn't make people happier, and can actually cause stress in your life, and can cause you to be less happy.
A popular belief in today's age is that the more money you have, or the richer you are, the happier you are. This is not the case, as research shows. David Futrelle says in his article "Can Money Buy Happiness?” “Once you get the basic human needs met, a lot more money doesn't make a lot more happiness." This means that once you achieve the basic human needs, enough food, enough water, adequate shelter, air, safety/security, self-actualization, esteem, friends, and family, having more money won't make you any more happy. Futrelle also goes on to explain how increasing your salary from $25,000 to $50,00 per year will make you more happy, but jumping to anywhere over $90,000 won't make you any happier than you already are. This shows us that although you may make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, that isn't the factor that determines whether we are happy or not, it's what we do with our lives that makes us happy. Futrelle's article also states how "having a lot of money can buy you a big house in the suburbs," but this can cause a longer commute to work, which in turn causes stress, being worn down and unhappiness. A final point made in the article is that money can't buy you friends, which is one of the main factors that causes happiness. The quote, "Chicago's National Opinion Research Center finds that those with 5 or more close friend are 50% more likely to describe themselves as 'very happy' than those with smaller social circles," shows that just because you have lots of money doesn't mean you can buy close friends that are interested for who you are, not just for your money. Another quote from the article, "The New Science of Happiness" says, "Take wealth, for instance, and all the delightful things that money can buy. Research by Diener, among other, has shown that once your basic life needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life," shows, again, that more money doesn't mean more happiness. Once you acquire the basic needs in life, having/ making more money will not lead to any more happiness.
The article overall helped in proving that money is not the key to happiness. It showed that up to a certain salary, you would not become any happier after making more than that. It also showed that having a closer circle of friends would cause you to become happier than having more money and things. Finally, it showed that by using money to have a farther commute to work, you will become more stressed and in turn be less happy.
A popular belief in today's age is that the more money you have, or the richer you are, the happier you are. This is not the case, as research shows. David Futrelle says in his article "Can Money Buy Happiness?” “Once you get the basic human needs met, a lot more money doesn't make a lot more happiness." This means that once you achieve the basic human needs, enough food, enough water, adequate shelter, air, safety/security, self-actualization, esteem, friends, and family, having more money won't make you any more happy. Futrelle also goes on to explain how increasing your salary from $25,000 to $50,00 per year will make you more happy, but jumping to anywhere over $90,000 won't make you any happier than you already are. This shows us that although you may make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, that isn't the factor that determines whether we are happy or not, it's what we do with our lives that makes us happy. Futrelle's article also states how "having a lot of money can buy you a big house in the suburbs," but this can cause a longer commute to work, which in turn causes stress, being worn down and unhappiness. A final point made in the article is that money can't buy you friends, which is one of the main factors that causes happiness. The quote, "Chicago's National Opinion Research Center finds that those with 5 or more close friend are 50% more likely to describe themselves as 'very happy' than those with smaller social circles," shows that just because you have lots of money doesn't mean you can buy close friends that are interested for who you are, not just for your money. Another quote from the article, "The New Science of Happiness" says, "Take wealth, for instance, and all the delightful things that money can buy. Research by Diener, among other, has shown that once your basic life needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life," shows, again, that more money doesn't mean more happiness. Once you acquire the basic needs in life, having/ making more money will not lead to any more happiness.
The article overall helped in proving that money is not the key to happiness. It showed that up to a certain salary, you would not become any happier after making more than that. It also showed that having a closer circle of friends would cause you to become happier than having more money and things. Finally, it showed that by using money to have a farther commute to work, you will become more stressed and in turn be less happy.