Why are we richer and freer than ever—yet feeling lonelier and less happy? In Episode 66, I sit down with William von Hippel to unpack the “connection vs autonomy” trade-off, the Easterlin paradox, why hunter-gatherers often report higher wellbeing, how cities and social media reshape relationships, and what we can practically do to rebalance our lives.

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What we cover

• Why more money ≠ more happiness

• Hadza insights: sharing, status, and joy

• The tension between connection and autonomy

• Cities, mobility & the rise of loneliness

• Social media, news doom-loops & risk perception

• Religion, community rituals & secular alternatives

• Dating apps, gender gaps, and modern love

• ADHD through an evolutionary lens

• Capitalism, AI, and the future of meaning

📚Buy the Social Paradox here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Social-Paradox-Autonomy-Connection-Happiness/dp/B0D4XB79F5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38WAQWKPOQV1K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EMhin9kb5iiyMs6H9XtbH07qzfmkAVQkMTQd7l3uKuavBT2ZGNIkzp8-Z6Yblw8ZO6_JtA3OqOwa1ka6FwUQ1IJXR3XQF9WpoPUq1kMjxg0MN7I6VGloaLDxxRpQmWIXeUgjohlGzmnnR-_mX1jrSxkIZTxkkz67V2FjsFGvE5bFSoFlv63KRFLcC3q38JRIhAc9Z4PLHNAAheUxHtIaOQSuYD0jy3Ei7KaA_pMtn4g.QEx3D6n6NF-juo6ZVu5ma2bMvqpIwbs4Ri0saY8FKSM&dib_tag=se&keywords=Social+paradox&qid=1757754615&sprefix=social+paradox%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-1

📸Follow William here - https://www.instagram.com/williamvonhippel/?hl=en

📚 Reference List (APA 7th edition)

• Buss, D. M. (2000). The dangerous passion: Why jealousy is as necessary as love and sex. Free Press.

• Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth: Essays in honor of Moses Abramovitz (pp. 89–125). Academic Press.

• Marlowe, F. W. (2010). The Hadza: Hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. University of California Press.

• Pinker, S. (2018). Enlightenment now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress. Viking.

• von Hippel, W. (2024). The social paradox: Connection, autonomy, and the science of happiness. [Publisher name – check your copy for the exact publisher].

• Wilson, E. O. (1975). Sociobiology: The new synthesis. Harvard University Press.

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🔬 Key Studies & Concepts Mentioned

• The Easterlin Paradox → See Easterlin (1974).

• Evolutionary mismatch (connection vs autonomy, autonomy “scarcity bias”) → Discussed extensively in von Hippel (2024).

• Relative wealth & happiness → Rothschild anecdote, common in wealth/happiness research literature (Easterlin + follow-up studies).

• Jealousy sex differences → Buss (2000).

• Social capital & religion → Large body of evidence; a good general reference is Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.

• Crime rate decline (U.S., 1970s–present) → Bureau of Justice Statistics data; e.g., FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program.

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📰 Data Sources Referenced

• World Values Survey (WVS) → World Values Survey Association. (2022). World Values Survey 1981–2022 Longitudinal Aggregate v.20220731. JD Systems Institute.

• Time Use Surveys (alone vs social time, past decades) → American Time Use Survey (BLS, ongoing).

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🎵 Music

Conal Mooney - https://www.instagram.com/conalmooneyaudio?igsh=dGxqdThlNnNoNzh6

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Keywords: William von Hippel, Easterlin paradox, happiness, loneliness, connection vs autonomy, Hadza, evolutionary psychology, religion and wellbeing, dating apps, ADHD, AI and meaning, cities vs countryside, social media, modern malaise

#TheStrugglePodcast #WilliamVonHippel #Happiness #EvolutionaryPsychology #Loneliness #DatingApps #ADHD #AI