Despite its diminutive landmass, Singapore frequently excels in global rankings of economic competitiveness, attractiveness, infrastructure and affluence.
But has this success come at some cost to our souls? In March, the World Happiness Report, an annual global study based primarily on comprehensive Gallup polling data, ranked Singapore 27th-happiest out of 146 nations.
This is in tandem with findings from the 2021 Institute of Policy Studies World Values Survey (WVS) report, which noted that nine in 10 Singapore residents among 2,000-odd respondents surveyed indicated being “rather happy” or “very happy”, all things considered.
While these are respectable results — in the World Happiness Report, Singapore was listed as the second happiest Asian location in 2022 after Taiwan — one cannot help but wonder what else we can do to be happier.
One of the more intuitive and well-established drivers of happiness is economic or material well-being. There is a marked positive correlation between gross domestic product per capita and individual life satisfaction; it is no coincidence that all of the top 20 countries ranked in the World Happiness Report are high-income OECD countries.
In a globalised capitalist reality emblematic of most countries today, the availability of baseline finances through plough, plunder, or inheritance to procure one’s physiological and safety needs (such as food, shelter and healthcare), is a prerequisite to personal well-being.
Yet, it is clear that other factors beyond material wealth impact our happiness. What are they?
HIKIKOMORI AND HAPPINESS
One aspect of our well-being includes the social support available to us, engendered by the quantity and quality of our relationships with kith and kin.
Virtually all respondents in the WVS study considered family an important part of their lives compared to other facets such as work, religion, wealth, or leisure. More than nine in 10 indicated likewise when polled about the importance of friends.
The same study also noted a marked positive impact of a significant other on life satisfaction. While similar proportions of single and married (or cohabiting) respondents indicated being “rather happy” or “very happy” in life, 30 per cent of married respondents selected the latter option compared to 17 per cent of singles.
Meanwhile, the proportion of divorced, separated and widowed respondents who were unhappy was twice that of their single and married counterparts.
This illustrates the value of (constructive) social relationships and networks in helping us navigate and survive life amidst the hustle and bustle. Be it a familiar face to share our joys with, a sympathetic shoulder to cry on in times of anguish, or simply the comforting company of another when we yearn for warmth; all these uplift our personal well-being.
In his seminal publication, Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam documents the waning levels of social capital in American society, with individuals becoming increasingly disconnected from family and friends.
Putnam’s data noted declining civic engagement, such as memberships in associations such as sporting clubs, religious organisations and interest groups necessitating face-to-face interactions.
These findings are not limited to the US context. In the same vein, hikikomori – acute social withdrawal whereby an individual decides to stop going to work or school, and instead spends most of their time secluded at home – has become more pronounced in Japan over the past decade.
This phenomenon, in tandem with the use of technology to supplant social voids, has profound adverse implications on the propensity of an individual to sustain existing relationships, and limits the potential for new bonds to be forged.
Initially, hikikomori was thought to be a culture-bound syndrome unique to Japan. But multiple studies have shown its prevalence in places as diverse as Hong Kong, Spain, Brazil, Canada, India, and the US. Hikikomori is now considered to be a worldwide phenomenon.
While time-series data on social disconnect and withdrawal in Singapore remains scarce, other parallel findings suggest that a harder look at our familial relations and friendships is in order.
In 1990, Singapore’s old-age support ratio, a measure of the number of people capable of economically supporting an older person dependent on others’ support, stood at 10.5. This number drastically dipped to 4.0 in 2021, an indication of smaller families.
The recent 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey by the National Population and Talent Division also found that four in 10 single respondents between 21 and 45 years old had never dated. Many cited their limited social circles and the lack of opportunities to meet potential partners as their top reasons for not dating.
These illustrate how circumstances negatively associated with social capital already exist in Singapore. Left unchecked, eroding social capital may result in other melancholic outcomes beyond mere unhappiness.
With hikikomori comes kodokushi – dying alone. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government estimates that in 2018, about 4,000 people died alone in Tokyo at home. In Singapore, a 2020 CNA article noted that the Health Sciences Authority handles up to 75 unclaimed bodies yearly.
IMPLICATIONS OF INEQUALITY
Numerous studies in the field of social psychology concur that income and wealth inequality, over and above absolute income, are important predictors of happiness. Relatively low levels of inequality may be productive in keeping individuals happy, as this can be perceived as a signal of social mobility and viable opportunities for upward mobility.
Yet, Mark Twain once quipped, “Comparison is the death of joy”. If inequality surges beyond a certain point, disillusionment sets in, as individuals view the prospect of upward mobility as remote, and harbour an inherent sense of envy and unfairness as they compare their circumstances with more affluent others.
Singapore’s status as a prosperous financial hub is contingent on its ability to burgeon its credentials as a highly open economy. Taxes on inheritance, dividends, investment income and capital gains are absent; such policies have been effective in convincing many of the world’s richest individuals and corporations to set up shop here.
But fears of the average Singaporean that social mobility has slowed, along with widening wealth inequality and challenges such as securing inexpensive housing, threaten to further augment perceptions of inequality.
Commentary on online fora proffers another avenue to peruse how Singaporeans perceive inequality. While not representative of the local population, a cursory perusal of the resentment and vitriol that comes to the fore periodically should yield some cause for concern.
Often, angsty and cynical reactions arise with high-profile incidents involving some form of wrongdoing, actual or perceived, by individuals of perceptibly higher socio-economic statuses. Some have been caught in luxury marques exhibiting poor or dangerous road behaviour; others have been filmed directing verbal abuse at service or security personnel.
Other trigger events include media attention lavished on the consumption behaviours of the ultra-rich, including the scramble for luxury penthouses and Good Class Bungalows in Singapore by wealthy individuals.
Left unchecked, notions that wealth begets entitlement and undeserved privilege may be reinforced over time, borne out of envy and a sense of unfairness. Both the latter are unproductive in the quest to assuage the populace that one’s lot may well be satisfactory in absolute terms and well capable of engendering a joyful existence, yet seemingly deficient in relation to a privileged few.
PERUSING THE PROSOCIAL
A third but often overlooked basis of happiness is being kind. Numerous studies have found a positive relationship between prosocial behaviour and well-being.
In particular, kind people were more likely to exhibit greater self-esteem, be endowed with improved physical health, and had less propensity to experience depression and anxiety.
While theories behind these correlations abound, some possibilities include how kindness may enable us to feel better about ourselves or reinforce the meaning of our lives. Prosocial behaviour may also serve as a distractor from our inherent fears, troubles and stressors – at least for a short period of time.
Alongside the “helper’s high”, or feeling of euphoria that comes from an act of kindness, as well as the opportunity for increased social connection with others, being kind can potentially improve our well-being and happiness in the long haul.
As an old Chinese adage goes, “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody”.
Melvin Tay is a Research Associate and Mathew Mathews is Head of the Social Lab and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.
This piece was first published in CNA on 9 December 2022.
Top photo from Pixabay.