“Get Out of the Groove” Essay #1 Are people restricting their happiness? In the article, “Get Out of the Groove,” Catherine de Lange claims that happiness relies on taking chances. If human happiness is fueled by chance, then people are encouraged to break out of their comfort zone (de Lange). Some aspects that contribute to how happiness is improved in everyday life include technology, feelings of uncertainty or unexpected events, and conformity. Technology has become very important in today’s society. Almost everyone has a smartphone or some type of technological device. Due to technology’s popularity, it can actually help people to get out and take chances. Multiple apps for technology have been created to help people get out of their comfort zone (de Lange). However, some of the activities suggested, such as following someone for a short amount of time, may be a little too uncomfortable for both ends of the activity. This could be considered a weakness within the article, because following a stranger is a bit over the top …show more content…
For example, the revolution in France created a cultural phenomenon referred to as Flânerie. Flânerie is described as “aimless idle behavior.” Parisian Flâneurs had the hope of encouraging a certain wandering in city life. As a result, in the future, “cities became even more predictable as planners increasingly built them to conform to rigid ones” (de Lange). The history provided strengthens de Lange’s theory of “tyranny of modern efficiency” because it sheds light on how people rely on what others are doing in order to make decisions for themselves. For example, if a group of close friends want to do something, but one friend does not, most of the time that one person will eventually decide to go along with the idea. It is human nature to conform to the actions or beliefs of the majority in most
Stephen M. Schuller and Acacia C. Parks research shows that circumstantial factors do not adequately explain different level of happiness. Positive reactions will contribute to everyone’s happiness just as well as negative reactions do. I agree with Schuller and Parks when it comes down to where your happiness comes from. I believe your happiness comes from how you react to every situation in your life and how you let it affect your happiness. Therefore, I do not agree with Newman and Larsen due to him believing your happiness is out of your control. Newman and Larsen state that most of what influences your long-term happiness is not in your control. Most circumstances that happen in your
The evolution of technology has had a great impact on our lives, both positive and negative. While it is great to be able to travel faster and research anything with the smartphones that now contain almost every aspect of our daily lives, there are also many advances within the realm of technology. Nicholas Carr presents information on the dependency aircraft pilots have on automated technology used to control airplanes in the article “The Great Forgetting”. Likewise, in “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” written by Stephen Marche, the result of isolation and pseudo-relationships created by social media is shown throughout the article. We live in such a fast paced society with so much information at our fingertips that we don’t make time to go back to traditional ways to ensure safety or create in-person relationships, making these two articles very relevant to the world and its current events.
A powerful influence over happiness is how people perceive situations and how they choose to engage with others. Life may change within an instant and have a spiraling spin of high and low points, but the positive state of mind and the value of social relationships determine the
However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic. This is easier said than done, however. In order to have a noticeable increase in happiness, people must be willing to make lifestyle changes in addition to changing their mindset. However, the difference between optimism and delusion is a fine line, so people must be cautious to not exaggerate the positive parts of an experience or become overly optimistic. If we practice seeking out the positive views of our circumstances, with time we will find ourselves happier than
Utilizing a pie chart, she illustrates the crux of her research; 10% of our happiness is increased or decreased by our circumstances. 50% of our happiness is increased or decreased by genetic predisposition, 40% is within our ability to control. We have “opportunities to increase or decrease our happiness levels through what we do and how we think” (22). She provides 12 specific happiness enhancing activities. She implores us to commit time, resources and energy to this “intentional activity”. Promoting these changes in our lives to accommodate being happier, which will benefit everyone in the end.
Would that be possible to stay away from our technology’s devices for just a day? The answer for this question will bring a lot of negative answers, and of course if we ask this question in a survey, “NO” will be the winner of this survey. Talking about the use of technology reminded me one of the sources from my annotated bibliography by Amy Petersen, who is the Theatre and Media Arts Department Chair and Associate Professor in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University. In her article which she wrote about the overuse of tech in our daily life and its affects, she said “If you would have told me a few years ago that I would feel completely lost without a cell phone, I never would have believed you. Now my iPhone is almost always within reach. My children likely believe that my most important possession is my MacBook Air, which is usually open and on whenever I am in the house. (“Jensen” par. 3)” Yes technology, internet, and cell phone became our best friends, and most of us can’t live without them.
They say if you love something, let it go. Yeah, I had a hard time believing those few words, for almost five years now.I met the first guy I fell in love with and whom I believed I was destined to spend my whole life with. I remember reading a quote or something like that by Plato, saying, “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” And I had sworn that I was sure he was my other half, that it was meant to be. Sucks though, when reality hits
Happiness is the main focus in life and should always be held most high according to Aristotle. He spends a great deal of time explaining how to achieve this we will see that, Aristotle was sure a genuinely happy life required a combination of many things. Which included physical and mental health? Bringing about a scientific way to look at happiness in its entirety.
Social relationships are essential for one to function properly within today’s society. Cell phones have affected social relationships by changing them from social conduct to contacting someone through a text message. “ Research in human interaction using communication technology like text messages and phone calls could deepen an understanding on how society manages their everyday life” (Rippen). Cell phones have become such a necessity in everyday life that cell phone users rely on a device to manage their everyday social relationships. Cell phone users can manage their social relationships with the touch of a screen. The user can access facebook, send a tweet, send an email, text, or call anyone anywhere in the world. As of lately cell phone users seem to be driven by their own need to be connected to anyone with in seconds. Some people find it overwhelming when it comes to manage their social relationships and have issues when confronted with human contact.
An aspect of technology that is not often discussed is the effect it has on personal communication. When presented with a situation in which one wants to tell their significant other “I love you” many would opt say this via text message rather than in person. Technology also provides us with the ability to solve the uncertainty associated with a situation. But, rather than meeting people in person to solve uncertainty, one can choose to browse the person...
The past two decades have overwhelmed the human experience with technology, along with all its distractions. The direct relationship between the mind and the body’s ability to adjust from these distractions can be extremely difficult .Further research has shown that it has become an addiction for many. Technology has significantly improved our lives as a whole through experiences such as Global Positioning System (GPS), cell phones and social networking allowing us to communicate with different people around the world. These technologies make our daily lives easier and more efficient. However, this also discusses the effects of technology on various aspects of our everyday personal experiences both with each other and with the world around us. On the other hand technologies such as cell phones have become a problem in getting students to focus in class and distracting drivers and thus, resulting in vehicle accidents. Technology is beneficial, but can also become an inescapable distraction in our lives. It is important to view technology as having the ability to make our lives better or worse, yet also as having the ability to change our personal lives and behavioral patterns.
The smart phones have affected our culture in many possible ways which leads to increase in personal efficiency and communication. Even though, smartphone can become a tool for constant connection with the world; the smartphone also makes people disconnect with the world around them such as friends and family. As Zackary suggests that “The invention and rising popularity of the smartphone has completely transformed our culture of socialization and interaction.”(2015) Smartphones are very powerful tools that can allow people to use many functions such as phone, text, internet, apps, games, and social media and so on. Smartphones are readily available and so easy to use that people are less willing to interact with another people more than their smartphone. Smartphone becomes a necessity for many people of their life because of their usefulness. We constantly see people who are using their smartphone more often, which a
Everyday choices and habits affect the wellbeing of humans. Recent research documents the unique habits of the people who are happiest in life. According to the data of scientist and professor of psychology at George Mason University, Todd Kashdan, “activities that lead us to feel uncertainty, discomfort, and even a dash of guilt are associated with some of the most memorable and enjoyable experiences of people’s lives” (Kashdan). Therefore, happy people “engage in a wide range of counterintuitive habits that seem, well, downright unhappy” (Kashdan). Essentially happy people take more risks. They have the knowledge that by taking these risks, they can learn how to manage uncomfortable feelings in life. Many people are averse to risk and things that make them uncertain. However, by taking risks and trying new things one experiences personal growth and feel positive emotions which can lead to a more positive mindset. Examples of these actions improving overall/genuine happiness can be anything from trying an odd, new food to leaving the country for volunteer work. While someone might feel nervous at first, many of these risks will end up working out well in the end. You never know what may come out of a new experience and this is a primary reason why taking risks can lead to positive emotions. Through risk taking, genuine happiness will increase as lasting memories are created and a shift occurs toward a more positive, open mindset for the
The movie Pursuit of Happyness shows how a person became a homeless then eventually how he survived from being a homeless. Then, to being a multi millionaire. Even though he experienced how hard life can be he still pursued to reach his goals in his life for his son. This movie shows how a homeless person stand up and pursue to be successful.
Some may argue that technology helps us not feel lonely because technology is the way to escape reality for a bit and the internet can reconnect with our friends and family from around the world. We can save time by “shopping” online and communicate quickly by “email than postal mail” (Franzen 428). We can also communicate via webcam, especially for college students away from their family. It’s a way to reconnect with our love ones and stay in contact with our friends. We want to be “able to share our lives with others” and technology “allows us to do that with music, videos, pictures, and texts” (Arnett 477-479).