Happiness can also be called “life satisfaction”, it is the general feeling of a human towards life and the satisfaction it arouses. Many factors influence life satisfaction in many areas, including work, relationships with family, lovers and friends, individual development, health and others. This essay on happiness and success will analyze the reasons why Westerners felt less happy than before, including lack of self-esteem, stress related to the pursuit of success, increased rates of addictions such as drugs and gambling, and network communication, less face to face (real communication). For each problem, the essay will propose individual and government solutions, such as being a volunteer, enjoying the happiness derived from absolute success and wealth, applying harsher punishments, and strengthening propaganda and preventive education on drug control, and less digital media using more. communication activities in the community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get an original essay Although the latest global happiness rankings from Helliwell, Huang and Wang show that almost all of the top 20 places are Western countries, but Canada fell from fifth to ninth place while America fell from 11th to 19th. Some people in Western countries report lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness than generations ago. First of all, lack of self-esteem influences the level of well-being. Happiness does not only depend on the economy, but it also means that rich does not mean happiness. In Western countries, people generally earn more money than they need to live. Despite great material satisfaction, people feel depressed when they are tired of daily life, and life seems to have no purpose or meaning. In other words, it's a lack of self-esteem. Self-esteem is an assessment of individual worth as a subjective feeling of self. Research by Neff has shown that self-esteem is linked to well-being. High self-esteem not only makes people feel good, but also promotes long-term happiness. Volunteering can be a solution to this problem, that is, volunteer jobs bring fun and friends to life, make people happy and volunteer. defining purpose and meaning for life, healthy self-esteem and discovering the value of life. A study by Whillans et al. found that volunteer jobs can help reduce depression and increase life satisfaction. Previous research by Lawton, Moss, Winter, and Hoffman also believes that the attitude and behavior of helping people benefits life outcomes and increases the level of life satisfaction. Therefore, volunteering can probably help Western youth with low self-esteem feel good and evaluate themselves positively. The end goal is to improve their happiness. The second effect that has caused less happiness in Western countries is stress related to the pursuit of success and wealth. In developed countries, as the economy develops at a high level, the data collected by America Oishi et al. showed that higher income does not equate to greater happiness. People can be unhappy in perfect conditions because they want more than their parents' generation and always aim to maintain an achievement. Another study ofBorrero, Escobar, Cortés and Maya indicate that when primary needs are satisfied, people's demands become more important and people worry about maintaining what they have acquired. Happiness researchers Cammeron have discovered that this is a kind of conventional thinking and symptomatic of a flawed approach to happiness. As a result, the increased pressure of ambition is the only thing that comes from what makes people unhappy. As a specific example, Dan White (founder of the social enterprise Ninety) and Sébastien Bras (owner of a three-star Michelin restaurant in France) who report feeling stressed but unhappy with their success. To reduce the stress associated with ambitions, people should try to put aside their desires for freedom of mind, to enjoy the happiness derived from particular success and wealth that they do not control. As the owner of a three Michelin star restaurant in France, Bras requested that his restaurant be removed from the list of the most prestigious three Michelin stars. He published his decision on Facebook: “we wish to be free spirits, to continue the adventure calmly, without tension”. He broke free from the framework of success and returned to a free and healthy life. The result is more happiness and more time spent with family. Another negative effect on happiness in Western countries is the increase in addictions such as drugs, gambling and others. Data from the Sussman study shows that in the United States, about 7 percent of young people smoke marijuana; about 8% of older adolescents abuse other illegal drugs; 1 to 3 percent of American adults engage in gambling. Sussman estimates that the total number of people suffering from addiction in the United States is about one in two people. Jeffrey Sachs, an economist at Columbia University, wrote that the United States is "a mass dependency society" in a recent report on world happiness. Sachs believes that these addictions cause considerable unhappiness, even depression. To solve this serious problem, the role of the government is extremely important. The government should focus more on reducing illegal drugs and gambling, imposing harsher penalties on those dealing or transporting drugs, strengthening propaganda and preventive education on drug control and gambling, continuously improving the ability of the public, especially students, to combat drugs and effectively improving the relevance and effectiveness of drug prevention education. The New Zealand government is a useful model for this solution: according to "The Wellbeing Budget", the government will invest approximately $213.1 million over four years in a project to strengthen drug treatment services. The government supports the Te Ara Oranga program in Northland, which helps people addicted to drugs. Finally, more networked communications and less face-to-face (real-life communication) contribute to the low level of happiness in Western countries. With the development of new information technologies in developed countries, communication between modern people has become more complex. People have less emotional communication than before, especially younger generations like to enjoy their personal space via the Internet and social networks. A study from a Canadian university found that young people's use of social media has increased significantly and that young people are spending more and more time on social media. Face-to-face communication is replaced by network communication. According to a study by Twenge, people who spend more time