Society is constantly pushing technological progress through fierce competition and increasing consumer demand. Over the last decades, this has brought us major technological advancements like computers and mobile phones that are widely available to the public in the Western world. One tends to say that people are better off now than they were in the middle of the last century. Otherwise, there would be no reason to spend our money on these new technologies. However, research shows that people are not happier than 70 years ago, even though their income has increased significantly. Before we proceed to assess the relationship between technological progress and happiness, how is happiness actually defined in most cases?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, happiness is defined as the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. This is still a quite broad definition, but I think contentment is an interesting word that is implicitly in conflict with seeking (technological) progress. Alternatively, one could describe happiness in the light of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which includes physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. Here, lower needs must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up, according to the order of needs mentioned above. One could argue that happiness corresponds to the level of satisfaction of these needs. Some examples may give us further insights into the relationship between happiness and technological progress.
Social media have entered our lives quickly over the last decade and we now experience both positive and negative effects. It gives us opportunities to experience pleasure as we are increasingly connected to friends, family, and acquaintances. But when online contact replaces physical contact, one could question what type of contact gives higher pleasure, both in the short term and long term. For instance, children are seduced to grab their mobile phones instead of playing outside. Does this give them more pleasure? In addition, I would argue social media negatively affect our levels of contentment due to phenomena like Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). We tend to compare our lives to other peoples’ that ostensibly are having a better time. Without social media, we would not be confronted with the (better) lives of other people, which would increase our level of contentment.
Another example to illustrate the relation between happiness and technological progress would be technological advancements in production methods. On the one hand, more sophisticated technology has catalyzed efficient food production. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, more efficient food production would contribute to satisfying physiological needs, if not satisfied before. On the other hand, more sophisticated technology has enabled countries to develop weapons for mass destruction for example, which would negatively impact the safety needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Given the examples above and my intuition, I would argue that in most cases technological progress does not result in increased happiness and leads to discontentment. What do you think about the relationship between technological progress and happiness?
References:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
https://www.technologyreview.com/2005/01/01/231791/technology-and-happiness/
