Saturday, January 24, 2009
Britain: 13th in survey of personal well-being in Europe
Britain has been ranked 13th in a survey of personal well-being in Europe that found Denmark, Switzerland and Austria the nicest places to live.
Measure smiles, not just GDP: British 'among least happy in Europe'
Tired, suspicious, bored and lonely: the British fare poorly in a new, detailed study which ranks European countries according to a sense of national contentment.
Britain comes third from the bottom in western Europe in the National Accounts of Wellbeing report, published today.
(link via guardian.co.uk)
National Accounts of Well-being
The personal well-being headline indicator measures people’s sense of how they are feeling within themselves and experiencing their lives. It is a combination of five component indicators which measure: emotional well-being; the extent to which people have a satisfying life; vitality; resilience and self-esteem; and positive functioning.
I do think British society is becoming more and more negative generally, especially in regards to opinions and attitudes about young people. That would certainly affect people's self-esteem and sense of purpose.
What are your thoughts about the results of the survey?
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It doesn't surprise me but I do find it depressing that we're that low on the list. xx
ReplyDeleteI agree, flighty.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about the survey results and I wonder about the influence of British TV shows and their impact on the results of this survey. I think British soap operas like "Coronation Street" and "Eastenders" are extremely depressing shows (which is why I never watch them) and probably have a big influence on a person's sense of how they are feeling about themselves.
I'm sure there are lots of factors contributing to personal well-being.
I also think that the drinking culture in Britain reflects the boredom levels. There should be more leisure/community centres offering reasonably priced (or free) things to do.