An article in the NY Times provides coverage of some research (apparently dissertation research at that) of the"Facbebook Global Happiness Index" (FGHI) which analyzes the content of Facebook entries to identify the degree of happiness/unhappiness on particular days. For example, did you know that people confess on their Facebook pages greater happiness on days like Thanksgiving (I assume the U.S. version) and Christmas (again, the U.S. version) while confessing greater unhappiness when a celebrity like Michael Jackson or Heath Ledger dies. Mondays aren't so hot either but the Boomtown Rats told us that years ago. The article is available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/technology/internet/12link.html?th&emc=th To quote the article: |Mr. Kramer hardly seemed giddy in a telephone interview on |Thursday — he seemed determined, precise, ambitious, even |harried, since he is working to finish his doctoral dissertation |in social psychology at the University of Oregon. | |But he did seem optimistic. The Facebook happiness index, he said, |could be the first step in reorienting the nation’s sense of self-worth. | |“We have tracked the economic health of the nation for a long time,” |he said. “The reason we track those things is that the government is |full of economists, not psychologists.” | |“If we know money doesn’t buy happiness,” he asked, “why are we |optimizing for money?” Concerning his last statement, Adam D.I. Kramer, A.B.D., makes the typical rookie mistake of thinking that people acquire great wealth in order to buy happiness. People acquire great wealth for a variety of reasons including to have great power over one's life, other people's lives, a community, a city, a state, a nation, and the world. Moreover, when viewed as a game, the processing of acquiring wealth, whether through building a business, trading stocks and other securities, dealing in real estate, or running a huge Ponzi/Maddoff schme, has its own pleasures in the very acts leading to winning huge amounts of money (the same pleasures that sports players have when they unambiguously spank their opponents especially in very public venues; see the third game of the American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels -- Angels fans were probably screaming "suck it!" at their TVs while Jonathan Papelbon was wondering whether he should commit seppuku in the dugout of Fenway park or in the clubhouse because of his shattering defeat). Perhaps it's time for people to re-watch the movie "Wall Street" to be reminded why people go after great wealth. I will be good background for when "Wall Street 2" is released. The TV series "Mad Men" also provides useful material to meditate on with respect to the acquisition of wealth and power, especially in the current storyline involving Conrad Hilton of the hotel chain and infamous offspring. "Connie" just doesn't want to be the best hotelier in the world, he want to bring American optimism and vision to the rest of the world even if they don't like it because that is what people with great wealth and power can do. Especially if they think they are on a mission from God (please, no "Blues Brothers" references). Anyway, any guesses on how many more dissertations in psychology there will be based on Facebook or Twitter or whatever is the latest social networking technology? -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
