Duh: Connecting With People Face-To-Face Makes Most People Happier Than Connecting Online

from the but-so-what dept

Well, here’s yet another useless study. Apparently, someone had to do some research to find out that, for most people, it’s more preferable to spend time face-to-face with others, rather than just online via social networks and the like:

Almost two-fifths, or 40 percent, of those surveyed said catching up with their loved ones after work was the happiest time of their day, while more than 20 percent said they were happiest when eating with their families.

By contrast, only 5 percent said they were happiest when connecting with friends online, and even less — 2 percent — said the first text message of the day made them joyful.

Well, duh. I don’t think this should surprise anyone — but it’s also rather meaningless. The thing that makes us “most happy” doesn’t mean that other stuff isn’t important and isn’t worthwhile. And, none of this is mutually exclusive. I know that my ability to stay in touch with certain people online makes the time we spend in person more enjoyable as well. These sorts of studies about what makes you “most” happy or “least” happy really don’t provide very much useful information, because the focus should be on the overall equation, not the single item at the top of the list.

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Comments on “Duh: Connecting With People Face-To-Face Makes Most People Happier Than Connecting Online”

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12 Comments
Bubba Gump (profile) says:

Re: The Post Office is EVIL!

I submitted the form (verbally over the phone, of course) so you will now receive all mail over the phone. Someone from the post office will call you and read your mail out loud to you. This is called “Service of Envelope Extension” (S.E.X.) .

Note that you will be charged a service fee of $4.95 per minute for the Phone S.E.X. operator.

Pickle Monger (profile) says:

Apples and oranges

“Almost two-fifths, or 40 percent, of those surveyed said catching up with their loved ones after work was the happiest time of their day, while more than 20 percent said they were happiest when eating with their families.”

Would the reverse work? Would less people prefer connecting online with their loved ones than catching up with friends after work?

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