The International Wellbeing Group announced yesterday that Hong Kong people rate themselves as unhappier than the international average. Using a 10 point scale, with 7.5 as the average, Hong Kong came in at 6.5. Does this mean that the people of Hong Kong are really unhappier than Nigerians for instance who score at the top of the comparison – hardly likely. Hong Kong people just aren’t as comfortable expressing their happiness or lack of it.
What this piece of news proves is that when people are self-reporting, cultural factors enter in. For instance, Australians will use the whole scale while in Hong Kong almost no one chooses zero or 10. Another interesting piece of information was that 7.5 seems to be where happiness stops. No matter how many self-esteem or happiness-enhancing workshops you attend, it is highly unlikely that you will get above 7.5 except perhaps in a short burst of joy at some event’s outcome or due to alcohol or drug ingestion.
So if you wonder why no one in Hong Kong appears to be enjoying themselves or returning your smile as they walk down the street, it may be nothing more than a cultural inhibition and they could be happier than you are.
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HongKong people ARE unhappy. Fullstop. The rise of social illness has been apparent for long what with the cleaver chopping that goes on once a week on the news. People’s general lack of honesty with themself regarding their personal lives let alone EXPRESSING their discomfort, then add to that a shortage of psychologists is one big boiling pot for misery. In the long run HK peoples’ EQs are and has been diminishing rapidly -dont take any excuses… They DONT smile. They dont have any reason to smile, and if they did, they have to force it -it isnt too hard to tell a fake from a real smile. If a hongkong person doesnt like you, theyre too inhibited to say it. If they like you they’re too inhibted to show it. Go figure why their self opression is causing enough mental illness to keep a shrink in overtime.
Cultural binding here is weak and family obligation has overshadowed family support causing people to be highly individualistic and uncooperative with others. HK also falls lowest in the statistics of casual sex (married or unmarried) compared to the rest of the world, they are sexually frustrated and sublimate that into over indulgence of materialism, food and money – the basis of their life struggle in the name of happiness often resulting in Not.
The extreme fluctuations in one’s self esteem is readily apparent, being either bottom of the pit or top of the pile. There is enough Egotism to go around but not a dint of absolute self esteem for a person to go around feeling valued as a human being. If you take offense at what I say, its most likely cause its true.
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