People in RL become obsessed with the idea of finding formulas to explain concepts that can’t really be explained by a formula, because they deal with the complexity of human behavior.A group of British psychologists came up with a formula to try to answer the million dollar question: “Are you happy”?
I don’t think a formula can answer that. No way. But it’s interesting to take notice of the facts they took in consideration. And, then, compare them with our life in SL.So, if happiness is not to be considered a subjective state, measuring the state of well being is simple according to the formula they came up with:Happiness= P+(5xE)+(3xH)
This equation is determined by three factors:
P stands for personal characteristics, including a person's outlook on life, adaptability and resilience.
E stands for Existence and relates to health, financial stability and friendships.
Add five times your existence needs, which includes health, financial stability, your community, and friends.
H stands for “higher order needs”, and covers self-esteem, expectations, ambitions and sense of humor.
So, add a triple dose of that.
When asked about what made them happy, four in ten men said sex made them happy, (I think in SL more men would say that-as well as in RL…-), and three in ten said a victory by a favorite sports team. (Someone has to figure out how to organize a competitive sports season in SL: something like the “New York Pixels” Vs. the “Chicago Laggers” would be quite an event).
For seven in ten women happiness was related to being with family, and one in four said losing weight.
This doesn’t apply to SL either. We can loose weight by editing appearance in a jiffy. We can also gain it. Or all the muscle we want without having to lift nothing heavier than the mouse. And it doesn’t look like having a “family” is a priority for women in SL, if they have one in RL. (They probably log on to SL to take a break).
Romance featured higher for men than women. (This I don’t believe). So did a pay rise and a hobby they enjoyed. These three things do happen in SL, there’s romance, a lot of people have jobs and make money, and almost everyone has a hobby.Women were more likely to cite sunny weather. (Ahh this is something that’s really not an issue in SL, except when RL weather brings down your Internet connection.)
The questions that were asked in order to come up with the formula, were the following:1)Are you outgoing, energetic, flexible, and open to change?
2)Do you have a positive outlook, bounce back quickly from setbacks and fee that you are in control of your life?
3)Are your basic life needs met, in relation to personal health, finance, safety, freedom of choice and sense of community?
4)Can you call on the support of people close to you, immerse yourself in what you are doing, meet your expectations and engage in activities that give you a sense of purpose?
It’s obvious all this questions are easier to answer in a very positive way from where we stand in SL. Come to think of it, it’s very hard not to be happy in SL, where we are never sick, we are safe, and we are free to engage in activities that give us a sense of purpose. Or not.
Some people are happy logging on and just dancing ‘till their hardware breaks.
As I said, I don’t believe in that kind of formula, but maybe, just for fun, we could try one for happiness in SL:
Happiness in SL= H (3Gb RAM)+ 2BPOS + 4BC + L&F
Where H stands for Hardware, multiplied by 3 Gigabytes of memory, plus twice the Best Performing Operating System you have now, plus a four times stronger Broadband Connection.
As for L&F… stands for Love and let your imagination Fly. The rest is up to us.
A famous teacher and psychotherapist, Dr. Haim Ginnot, said:
” Happiness is not and end in itself. It is a by-product of working, playing, loving, and living”.
Log on, and enjoy your SL journey.
Covadonga Writer.
