There is a popular notion that money equals happiness, but is that truly the case? Personally, for a broke college student, it is. However based on a study published on Nature Human Behavior, $105,000 is actually the economic “satiation point”, or the point where maximum bliss is met in Northern America (this number changes relative to location). Other areas contained in the study included Australia/New Zealand with $125,000, Sub-Saharan Africa with $40,000, and Latin America/Caribbean with $35,000. These numbers were achieved after giving a poll to about 1.7 million individuals and asking them to rate their satisfaction in life based on a number scale. They used these responses and information about the person’s income and culture to conclude information on different satiation points. I believe it must be noted that there are some flaws in this study, especially the reliability of the answers given in the poll, and the validity to put happiness— a bundle of emotions— in a numeric form. Is that truly possible?
However, these results do say something important about the society we live in, and how we depend on material things and money. For example, we idolize celebrities and their net worths and we base our social position based on the new technology we have. Significantly, we are a society where money plays a huge role in our social growth. One of the lead researchers and contributors of this study, Andrew T. Jebb, explains, “there’s a certain point where money seems to bring no more benefits to well-being in terms of both feelings and your evaluation” (“Does money equal happiness?”). These results not only show that someone does not need to have a large amount of money to be satisfied with their life, but they also mean that a wealthy CEO of a business may not be as happy as someone who is a cashier at a local grocery store. As a society, we look up to people with higher economic standing, when in reality this lifestyle isn’t necessary for satisfaction in life. Yes, money does bring us material things that can bring feelings of happiness and satisfaction, but how far do material things go? Arguably, someone of lower income can gain happiness from the experiences they have and the people they include in their life. Such things surpass most material things, providing a long term impact on life and happiness, which is what we should be aiming at as a society.
Jebb, Andrew T., et al. “Happiness, Income Satiation and Turning Points around the World.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 8 Jan. 2018, www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0277-0.