2023-08-16 13:13:43
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — A new Gallup poll released Tuesday found that adults who regularly say hello to many people in their area have a higher level of well-being than those who talk to a few neighbors, or They don’t communicate with anyone.
The number also matters, as well-being increased from 51.5 among people who didn’t greet neighbors to over 64 among people who greeted 6 or more people regularly (with 100 considered ideal).
“The most appropriate number in terms of well-being is to say hello to six people,” said Dan Wieters, director of research for the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index.
The Index is a large national survey of occupational, financial, social, material, and community well-being, conducted every 3 months in the United States, since 2008.
“After saying hello to 6 people, you don’t gain more than saying hello to your neighbors,” Wieters added, but “6 is better than 5, and 5 is better than 4.”
But what distinguishes a salutation? Is this embodied through a gesture, or a wave of the hand, or a pat on the back? And should you stop and chat too?
“We don’t ask you to know the person well, stop, chat, or even know their name,” Wieters explained, adding that “it’s likely that the more people you say hello to, the more likely you are to initiate a conversation with them instead of just waving.”
More than a social benefit
Saying hello greatly enhanced a person’s social success, according to an analysis of survey data, and doing so on a regular basis improved a person’s physical, financial, occupational, and community health.
The new survey also compared the number of greetings to how “flourishing” a person was.
To measure prosperity, Gallup uses a scale called the Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale that asks people to imagine themselves on the scale of achievement now and in the next five years, with 10 being their best possible life and zero being their worst possible life.
“People who rate themselves as 7th or higher in their current lives and 8th or higher in their future lives are considered to be thriving,” Wieters said.
The survey found that the chance of being considered buoyant was only 38.1% among people who didn’t say hello, while the number rose to 60.5% among those who greeted 5 neighbors.
Who salutes more?
The survey found that most Americans say hello to an average of 5 people in their neighborhood regularly, with 27% reporting saying hello to 6 or more people in their neighborhood.
However, it varied according to age.
Adults under the age of 30 greeted an average of 2.9 neighbors, with only 14% saying hello to 6 or more people on a regular basis.
Wieters noted that the tendency of younger generations to use smartphones may play a role. “People don’t look up to say hello, they just look at their device,” he explained.
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