Blair Fowler shops for a living. A school drop-out from Tennessee, her professional title is ‘haul queen’. Together with her sister Elle, she shops by day and returns home at night to post clips of her showing off the day’s buys on YouTube. Her videos can earn her £70,000 in advertising revenues.
For some women, this is the ultimate dream job. Hermione, a financial secretary, would do just about anything to be paid to shop. ‘That would be the best job EVER,’ she said. ‘I would be the happiest person in the world.’
But do material goods and high salaries make us truly happy? According to a lord, a master and a policy maker, the answer is an unequivocal no.
This September, ‘Happiness czar’ Lord Layard, a professor at the London School of Economics; Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College; and Geoff Mulgan, former head of policy at 10 Downing Street, will together launch the Movement for Happiness.
The trio observe that over the past 50 years we have become richer, but not happier. The organisation aims to move British people away from the selfish materialism of the West, towards a society that cares for each other and is, as a result, a happier nation.
Professor Andrew Oswald, an economist at the University of Warwick, has focused a lot of his research on happiness. He believes that while the organisation’s task is an important one, it will not be easy.
‘We do have growing evidence that as we become richer and richer, mental wellbeing is not increasing. Human beings are hardwired to compare themselves to others. If we could work out how to stop that, it would be brilliant.’
The Movement for Happiness is well aware of these issues and is creating a manifesto that they hope will influence both individuals and policy makers. It’s a tall order in a world that places increasing importance on status, possessions and income, and we will be watching their progress with interest.
In the mean time, research has suggested that material wealth only brings short bursts of pleasure. Buying things for others, on the other hand, leads to a longer lasting sense of happiness. With this in mind, try buying something for someone else this week, rather than yourself – do you feel any happier?
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