Is a Sense of Humor Really an Essential Part of Life?
There is nothing like humor to lighten the mood, keep someone entertained, or just make yourself look interesting. While the traditional things one looks for in a partner are attractiveness and the ability to provide, studies show that both men and women report that humor is a vital characteristic when looking for a potential partner. 90% of men and 81% of women in one piece of research rated it as attractive and something they actively seek out.
While the statistics would show that men value humor more than women, men still value physical attractiveness even more, while women are willing to compromise on attractiveness if the potential partner is funny. Self-deprecating humor, which often does fall into the “painfully relatable” category, is often considered particularly attractive, as it conveys the person's self-confidence in that they can actually laugh at themselves. A liking for hilarious memes about life also helps!
Of course, “attractiveness” is just how we measure things we like in other people. Humor and hilarity aren’t fun because they make us attractive to potential mates; they are just enjoyable human experiences in general. It’s also a great shortcut to bonding, as humor relies on shared experience or understanding, so if two people find the same thing funny, like these hilarious memes for adults about life, it’s a marker that they might get along. Not just romantically but as friends, coworkers, or even just neighbors.
Besides entertainment, humor does have a host of other psychological benefits. First and foremost, feeling good is good for you, surprise, surprise. But research shows that positive humor, as in the ability to be funny and find things funny is connected to better health outcomes. It might not offset a Big Mac, but a few hilarious memes about life a day could keep the doctor at bay, for a bit at least.
However, not all humor is created equal, and maladaptive humor does not necessarily help a person with their health. Self-deprecating humor is good, but some people take it so far that they start to believe all the negative things they say about themselves. Similarly, aggressive humor that attacks others or has a lot of negative energy tends to not really make anyone feel better.
So, just being relatable isn’t enough; we can relate to pain and sadness, depression and loss just as easily as anything else. Even if a person is making a self-deprecating joke, it’s pretty easy to reflect those same negative feelings on one's self. So perhaps reconsider when you make the same “I’m a lazy slob” joke for the ninth time today; it’s definitely no longer funny, so choose one of these hilarious memes for adults instead.
Certain aspects of life do end up with more joking and humor, however. The workplace is a classic example of this, as work jokes are a way to relieve stress. Similarly, the workplace involves a number of shared experiences among a group of people, so it’s a lot easier to set up jokes with an audience that understands you.
