Every year on March 20, the UN marks World Happiness Day with the launch of the World Happiness Report (WHR). In a time where war replaces pandemic, and climate and growing inequality are significant challenges, happiness is under pressure. This year’s report shows that stress and worry have increased globally. – When we compare with a few years ago, there is actually a fairly clear decline, says Thomas Hansen, senior researcher at the Institute of Public Health (FHI). Could any of this change if we pick up the banter again? PROGRESSIVE SMALL TALK: – The trend is unfortunate, not least for those who are isolated and lonely, who would like to have more contact with others, says FHI researcher Thomas Hansen. Photo: Privat Small talk makes us happier Research shows that the level of happiness is far higher if you talk to random people on the bus than if you sit on the phone, says FHI researcher Thomas Hansen. The same happens when you can help others. Like helping tourists find their way or recommending good restaurants. Or taking care of a neighbour. – This gives what is called a “helper’s high”, i.e. the experience of happiness that occurs in random encounters with others, says Hansen. Helene Tronstad Moe is a researcher at the University of Kristiania. According to her, spontaneous meetings and dialogue both contribute to making us feel seen and confirmed. But still, there are several things that indicate that we chat less. – Eye contact with passers-by, a smile from a neighbor or a small chat in the shop makes you happier, says Helene Tronstad Moe, who is a researcher and lecturer in work and organizational psychology at Kristiania University College. Photo: Jonatan A. Quintero / Høyskolen Kristiania Small talk’s lost art At least Odin Elle Rønning (22) notices. He works in the till at Coop OBS in Bodø, and meets many people every day. Many of them wear headsets in their ears and are not very talkative. Someone is on a phone call, and then Odin has to wait until they have finished to ask if they want a receipt. – It can be annoying. It is easier to make small talk with the well-grown adults. They take the initiative themselves, he says. To find research on the lost art of small talk, we have to go out of the country. IT’S DIFFICULT TO MAKE SMALL TALK: Odin Elle Rønning (22) has been a shop assistant for four years. – It is part of the job to initiate conversation, but small talk with strangers is difficult and can be a little scary, he says. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news Silence on the train The French newspaper Le Monde recently wrote about the silence that has arisen in French train carriages. The French train company SNCF hired researchers to study the behavior of passengers both on board the train and on the platform. Researcher Diouldé Chartier-Beffa in Dcap Research tells news that they made several surprising discoveries. – The most surprising, but somewhat sad phenomenon, we observed on board the commuter trains. As soon as the passengers had taken their seats, they sank into a kind of apathy. Either in their screen or they were dozing against the window. The purpose was to distance oneself from others, says Chartier-Beffa. It became a bit more social when the passengers got off the train. Situations often arise where people need information or help. MORE SCREEN USE: Screens and mobile phones on French trains led to less small talk, says researcher Diouldé Chartier-Beffa. – It is difficult to walk with your nose in your mobile phone when a mother needs help carrying a pram up the stairs, according to Diouldé Chartier-Beffa. And most of us feel pleasure in being able to help others. The satisfaction is greater than the inconvenience, the researcher points out. Another thing that worries the researchers is that those who chat less are the same ones who experience the greatest decline in happiness: the young. WITH NESA IN THE MOBILE: It has become quieter on the trains in France, shows a new study. Photo: BERTRAND LANGLOIS / AFP Young people are quick to pick up their mobile phones Line Olsen is a hairdresser in Bodø. She has been for almost 20 years. She likes to chat with the customers. Olsen notices that especially the young customers are quick to pick up their mobile phones when they sit down in the hairdresser’s chair. While the slightly older customers like to chat with the hairdresser about loose and fixed. – I don’t know why it is like that. Maybe the older generations think it’s a bit small if it’s quiet? But it is not just small talk that young people seem to struggle with. They also seem to contribute to the negative development around happiness in the recent reports. According to research from FHI, it is especially young people who have reported a lower quality of life in recent years. Social media may be partly to blame. Researcher Helene Tronstad Moe has some theories as to why this is so. Among other things, she believes that the use of social media can have a negative influence. – Social media may be experienced as an arena where we can reach a larger number of people than those we reach by chatting with others in the shop or a friend on the phone, she says. At the same time, there are several studies that indicate that high use of social media is associated with an increased incidence of depression, increased social isolation, and anxiety disorders. – But it is probably too early to conclude in what way increased use of social media will affect and possibly displace other ways of communicating. But there is hope. Small talk is something we can practice, according to experts in the field, such as hairdresser Lise Fygle in Bodø. – If you find it difficult to start small talk, but smile, then there is often someone to help you get started. It may be enough to smile, she says. GOOD AT SMALL TALK: Small talk is a large part of the everyday life of many hairdressers. – You’ll be good at least if you socialize a lot with people you don’t know very well. And as a hairdresser you get a lot of training in that, says general manager Lise Fygle at BECH hairdresser in Bodø. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news
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The UN’s happiness report shows that we are becoming more stressed and worried. Can small talk be the salvation – news Nordland
