The small Asian country of Bhutan is considered the least developed by the United Nations. The inhabitants of the country are not trying to develop the economy. For themselves, they introduced the gross national happiness index. The people of Bhutan live happily, but recently modern technology has begun to interfere with their happiness.
The Prime Minister of Bhutan once called the country the happiest in the world. Despite this, Bhutan was ranked 97th out of 156 countries for happiness in the United Nations report. At the Bhutan Research Center, modern technology is said to be the reason. The nation has long shunned them, but cell phones, televisions and computers are gradually infiltrating people's lives, making them less happy.
Most of the problems are blamed on television. It has impacted rising crime rates and shifting demographics. Advertising is believed to inspire desires in Bhutanese that they cannot satisfy in the current economic situation. This is what gives rise to crime, corruption and the desire to move from rural areas to cities for higher-paying jobs.
Survey data indicate that more and more Bhutanese are experiencing negative emotions such as anger, fear and selfishness. Nevertheless, 90 percent of those surveyed consider themselves happy. True, 48 percent consider themselves "very happy", but not "deeply happy" or "extremely happy."
How do we manage to cope with modern technology and stay happy?
Ernest Vasilevsky
