News item | 25-04-2024 | 00:01
Time and again, research by the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) shows that residents of the Netherlands are more satisfied with their own lives than with the Netherlands as a whole. In addition, the Dutch are more optimistic about the direction in which their lives are developing than about the direction of the country. This ‘I’m doing well, we’re doing badly’ is not new and not typically Dutch. In the new edition of the Continuous Research on Citizen Perspectives, the SCP explains this phenomenon.
The research into judgments about one’s own life and the country as a whole is part of a new edition of the Continuous Research on Citizen Perspectives (COB). With the COB, SCP investigates and explains how people feel about society and politics.
Evaluations of one’s own life and the country as a whole are partly about other things
The research shows that Dutch people give their own lives an average of 7.7. That is higher than their figures for society (6.2) and politics (4.9). Of the Dutch, 67% are optimistic about the direction in which their lives are developing, while only 12% are optimistic about the direction of the country. In the focus groups and the survey, people indicate that they base their ratings on their own lives mainly on how satisfied they are with their own social contacts, financial situation, health, living situation and time use. In their assessment of the country and politics, not only their own experiences play a role, but people base their judgments strongly on what they see in (social) media about what is going on in the Netherlands. Their opinions about the country as a whole concern social problems in the Netherlands in a large number of areas and how politicians deal with them. People also indicate that their concerns are about the situation of other people. It is possible that people are quite satisfied with their own finances or home, but are concerned about poverty or a shortage of suitable housing for others.
Gap in judgment about one’s own life and the country as a whole
The fact that most people tend to judge their own lives more positively is firstly due to this difference in the way people judge their own lives (based on their own experiences) and the way people judge the country (in which what they see in the media also plays an important role). In addition, people tend to be positive and hopeful about their own lives and put negative experiences into perspective: things could always be worse. In focus groups, there appeared to be a strong social norm to talk positively about one’s own life. Giving your own life a low grade can quickly feel like you have failed yourself. When talking about the country as a whole, the opposite was noticed. There, being positive is more likely to be interpreted as a sign that someone does not see or does not want to see the real problems.
Even in a happy country there are real concerns
The fact that people who are satisfied with their own lives are concerned about the country and politics is sometimes labeled as complaining. Although respondents in the surveys and focus groups of SCP research also mention this complaining culture, most do not think this accusation is justified. Even in a prosperous country like the Netherlands, there are real concerns, such as about the future, about others and for some also about their own lives. People don’t think those concerns should be downplayed. It is better to recognize them as expressions of social involvement.
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