Meik Wiking: The Dark Side of Happiness

[19:21]

While Denmark has been regularly awarded the rewarding title of “Happiest Country in the World” over the past few years, it also suffers on the happiness-suicide paradox, an hypothesis that Meik Wiking presents as a correlation between happy countries and high suicide rates.

Through a series of metrics and statistics, Meik Wiking helps us measure well-being inequalities that lead to gaps between happiness and unhappiness indices. While most research focuses on happiness and quality of life, Meik invites us to reflect upon the other end of those numbers.

Meik Wiking heads the Happiness Research Institute which gathers knowledge and theories on what defines happiness and life quality.

Meik Wiking is the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, an independent think tank exploring why some societies are happier than others. He has recently published the book Lykken under lup – en opdagelsesrejse i lykkeforskningens verden (Happiness under the magnifying glass: a journey into the world of happiness research). With a background in political science and business, Meik has previously worked on sustainability for the think tank Mandag Morgen.

[Video and text source: TEDx Talks YouTube channel]