RECONSIDER HAPPINESS
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Meik Wiking is a happiness researcher, who reconsiders the goodness of happiness - is it only ever a good thing? Looking into happiness indices, suicide rates, employment and social media, Meik shows us the dark side of happiness.
As he noticed how much the happiness agenda was taking off internationally and how high Denmark was ranking on it, Meik launched a think tank in Copenhagen, in 2013: the Happiness Research Institute. Its goal is to gather knowledge and theories on happiness, life satisfaction and quality of life.
- THE HAPPINESS-SUICIDE PARADOX
Meik works on the happiness-suicide paradox: the hypothesis that happy countries have high suicide rates. For instance, Hawaii is the second happiest state in the US, but it also has the fifth highest suicide rate.
Meik is reconsidering how one person’s happiness might lead to another person’s unhappiness through different examples: unemployment, loneliness and social media. The Happiness Research Institute conducted a study, for example, on the effect of social media on well-being.
- SOCIAL MEDIA IS A NON-STOP GREAT NEWS CHANNEL. A CONSTANT FLOW OF EDITED LIVES WHICH DISTORTS OUR PERCEPTION OF REALITY.
Happiness can also be useful from a policy-making point of view. When talking about inequality, we always focus on income. However, Meik believes that we need to address the inequality of well-being, and develop a better language for discussing happiness, well-being and quality of life.
Are you ready to look into the dark side of happiness? Join us on April 7th at Bremen Teater!
- By Jasmine Crozier
About the speaker
Meik Wiking is the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, an independent think tank exploring why some societies are happier than others. He has recently published the book Lykken under lup – en opdagelsesrejse i lykkeforskningens verden (Happiness under the magnifying glass: a journey into the world of happiness research). With a background in political science and business, Meik has previously worked on sustainability for the think tank Mandag Morgen.
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