Do you oftentimes find yourself lonely but incapable of engaging in “small talk” with others? Do you long to have hoards of friends, yet at the same time can’t stomach pretending to fit in with society? If you’ve answered “yes” to both questions, don’t despair. While the reality might seem like a tortuous fate, it’s actually good news. Don’t believe us? Read on…
According to research which was published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2016, smarter people are actually happier being alone. The finding is traced back to the savanna theory of happiness. For the study, researchers analyzed the statistics and demographics of a survey which 15,000 adults willingly took. The findings revealed that individuals who lived in areas with more people per unit were less happy than those in the opposite situation.
The abstract reads, “the main associations of life satisfaction with population density and socialization with friends significantly interact with intelligence, and, in the latter case, the main association is reversed among the extremely intelligent. More intelligent individuals experience lower life satisfaction with more frequent socialization with friends.”
It turns out that more intelligent individuals tend to be less happy interacting with their friends more frequently than they normally would. Theories as to why this is include that smart people are aware of habits and situations which make them happy, have a low tolerance for small talk and are also able to adapt to new situations and things, therefore, they find little comfort in routine habits and get-togethers.
As EducateInspireChange points out, this finding is sourced from a survey so it is far from conclusive. However, it does provide some interesting food for thought. Are loners smarter than the average person? And if so, what does this mean?
Truththeory.com/Amanda Froelich
