YOLO, a term that has become popular recently, can very accurately describe what the youth of today thinks it takes to make them happy. In the article, “YOLO: Aging and the pursuit of happiness,” the Journal Of Consumer Research conducted a study with over 200 participants ranging in age 18-79. The participants were asked to recall recent experiences that had made them happy. They sorted those responses into 12 general categories including extraordinary experiences and experiences of the common variety.
The study showed that older people found happiness in more ordinary, everyday activites versus the younger people who primarily found happiness in extraordinary events. They concluded that as people age they find more happiness in ordinary activities. Older people appreciate the more ordinary things in life because they’ve accepted their mortality and because they have a better established self-image than the younger generations. The youth feel they need to experience YOLO moments to define themselves and ultimately, to be happy. To them, ordinary and common events loose importance and this thus restricts them from acheiving happiness from those events.
Hearing these results made me experience a variety of emotions. I was happy knowing that older people were enjoying the little, ordinary things in life. I was also angered that the youth are not appreciating the little things in life. One major problem we have in society today is self-image. People care so much about defining themselves to other people and think they can only be happy from that. We, as the youth, need to stop thinking we need to prove ourselves to our peers by doing crazy things. We can be happy without doing that. As we get older, we are happier because we learn who we are and do things that make us happy because they make us happy, not because we are seeking self-definition.
I know that it takes time to figure out who we are, but imagine if we stopped worrying so much about what people think and do things that make us genuinely happy today! We could be so much happier and not waste any time! You don’t have to skydive or throw a huge party to be happy. I believe we should all accept, without being distraught, that our lives are going to end someday and we should appreciate life has to offer us now - the ordinary things and the YOLO moments. You Only Live Once, so be happy!
NOS Themes:
Living Things Grow and Develop: This study shows that as we get older we grow and develop to appreciate the smaller things in life and be happier.
Inductive vs. Deductive: This study was an example of Inductive Reasoning because it asked the specific question of what things made the participants happy recently and then they got general dividing the responses into categories and then having a general conclusion.
Comment Prompts:
Do you notice this trend of YOLO moments leaving ordinary/common events in it's shadow?
Are you pro-YOLO or are you anti-YOLO?
Do you agree that all things, big and small, in life should produce happiness?
How are you going to live your life? Appreciately even the non-YOLO events?
Tell me what you think in the comments below!
Article:
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/02/11/yolo_aging_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness.htmlLinks to articles on same concept:
That is so true, for the most part. I've had a little bit of experience conversing with clients at elderly homes, and, to back up your summary, they do tend to talk about the little things in life that make them truly happy, like playing bingo, eating pie for dessert, listening to music, having a relative or friend visit them..............
ReplyDeleteIt's entirely different from what I hear at school or from peers around my age. We usually talk about big, exciting things coming up and don't always take the time to love what we already have.
In a way, I think this ties in to gratitude. I feel more contented when I acknowledge the things I should be grateful for. For example, instead of waking up in the morning grumpily because I didn't get enough sleep, I try to think positively and get myself pumped up for school! When we start to see things in a different light, it helps us to appreciate everything in life, from minor to major events.
Relating to your second article link on the same concept ("Does Happiness Increase as We Get Older?"), I also wonder why the tendency shows that we do seem happier as we age. It could be environmental, psychological, or biological changes, but I'm guessing it all has to do with our changes in thinking.
2 GREAT RESOURCES:
*Hearing Mr. McCartan speak every Monday morning 2nd hour
*The Secret- It's a movie (and also a book) that I haven't watched yet, but one I intend to. I don't know what it's entirely about, but watching a small segment of it really made me think differently. I know it teaches you to live life happily, doing the things you want. Watch or read it if you want to be inspired:)
http://thesecret.tv
(P.S. It's also on Netflix!)
YOLO:)
This article has an great appeal to our generation as 'yolo' is used frequently by teens, especially at EPHS. I'm anti-yolo, because you can come up with a far better excuse to do something besides yolo. What the study proved is that wisdom and happiness come with age, which is a comforting thought. Teenagers tend to crave adventure and making memories, whereas older generations tend to be content with everyday activities. I'm curious as to if there is definite biological factor that makes teenagers have to work harder for happiness. I know that life experience comes into play, but is there an instinct that causes teenagers to take more risks?
ReplyDeleteWow nice article! I totally agree with you that we need to enjoy the little things throughout our whole life and not just when we are older. In an article I read it did mention that YOLO doesn't just mean living life to the fullest and enjoying yourself. It also focuses on brash ideas and their consequences. “When I see “YOLO” in a tweet, I know instantly that something unintelligent and cocky is going to follow,” she wrote. “There’s nothing wrong with taking risks in life and trying new things. I’m totally for that. But there’s a fine line between living your life to the fullest and making spur-of-the-moment, completely irrational decisions.”-Robyn Dexter, campus editor of the Eastern Illinois University’s Daily Eastern News, pointed out the recklessness of #YOLO to her fellow students.
ReplyDelete