Advertising, Happiness and the End of the World

Doing things I like and enjoy makes me happy. I am the happiest when I am around people I love and care about. It creates a generally happy mood. I believe that a national happiness index is an interesting concept. I don't think it is a good or bad idea; I look at it as more of a resource and less of a concept. I think the best way to measure the happiness of a nation is to ask every citizen of that nation on a scale of 1-10 of how happy they are during normal life and average the answers. Sadly, this would be extremely difficult and take far too long. 

The story "I've Been Called A Luddite" implies there is no fun left in the world anymore with all the new technological advancements. The author describes a trip to the postal convenience center near the United Nations. The trip is very exciting for them and the author glorifies each step of sending the letter. In our common day, these simple small trips to the post office are shortcutted by emails and technology. The author is trying to portray the world is less "fun" now with technology being such a large part of daily life. A moment of enjoyment of "fun" was shown in the quote "Then I go outside and there is a mailbox. And I feed the pages to the giant blue bullfrog. And it says, 'Ribbit.'" (page 61). This quote shows how childish and amused the author was with their description of the "giant blue bullfrog" which was actually just a mailbox. I agree with these ideas stated by the author. I think people should go out and experience the world. Maybe take the "long way home" and not just the faster way.

The NY Times article "But Will It Make You Happy?" implies that having all the consumer goods that you desire will not always make you happy. There is a deeper meaning to happiness that takes true enjoyment of an activity or action that causes you pleasure. The saying "to keep up with the Joneses" means to try to be or be better than the people around you. it is typically seen with houses in a neighborhood with each family trying to outdo the others. I believe there are definite trends and phases for everything and technology is commonly part of this. 

This photo I took on a three-week-long backpacking trip in the mountains of Wyoming. To me, it signifies happiness because this image captures the feeling of accomplishments and success.