We laugh.
According to scientific studies, the average adult laughs just 15 times every day. Yes. Fifteen times. Let me point out that this is opposed to the average child, who laughs more than 400 times each day. I just want to note that we quit drawing pictures when we were kids, we quit laughing, we lost a lot of our magic.
Anyway. It seems we’re all a bit more expressive when it comes to finding things funny online. New research has emerged that has shown just how much people around the world laugh on the internet every day.
Companies like Bored Panda, Facebook, TikTok, and others keep track of how we react to online posts. For instance, country by country, one study analyzed a staggering 30 million geotagged posts on X (formerly Twitter) and counted the number of times the posts expressed laughter, either in the form of an emoji or straightforward text (like “ha ha ha!” or “lol”).
So. Who laughs the most?
Of all the nations of the world, it was the Philippines that laughed the most: For every 1000 Filipino posts, some form of laughter was included in 119.6 of them, equivalent to almost one in every eight. Compare that to the United States, which came in eighth in North America. On average, Americans laughed online in just 48.6 posts per 1000. That was far below the North American continent leader, Guatemala, which scored 77.6.
Americans. There we are.
Elsewhere around the world, the U.S. fared about as well as the UK (which was ranked first in Europe, with a score of 48) followed closely by Spain (42.3) and France (41.6).
Paraguay (82.6) came out on top in South America, South Africa (106.8) in Africa, and Australia (38) in Oceania. A quick laughing glance at the leaders around the world.
At the opposite end of the scale, Bangladesh proved to be the country that laughs the least, with just six instances of online laughter out of every 1000 posts. Other nations similarly at the lower end of the scale included Afghanistan (9), Moldova (14.8), and Algeria (19.5).
How come Bangladesh doesn’t laugh so much? Well, there are 170 million people there, and women wear saris and lungis for men as traditional garments. And Bangladesh is prone to flooding, cyclones, and monsoons due to its low-lying geography. Those things aren’t so funny.
Enough about the world. What about my home?
Here in America, our laughing varies from state to state. Surprisingly, to me, Louisiana topped the list with a score of 71.8. They laugh online a full three times as often as the state that came in last. That would be the very solemn state of Vermont (with a score of 22.8).
Louisiana was also one of 11 states that preferred the feline Cat with Tears of Joy emoji, while Vermonters were one of just nine that stuck with the more sedate Face with Tears of Joy.
Oh.
Well. Here is the other side of things. Laughing is a great thing, even if it is online. But many times, like those folks in Vermont, we don’t find things very funny at all.
Sometimes all of it makes us want to cry.
Here is the thing. We should always remember that there’s a benevolent force out there that loves us.
And. No matter what, there’s always a shoulder to cry on, even if it isn’t a tangible one. Even in our darkest moments, we’re never alone.
We should let this knowledge carry us through each day. Because, whether we are laughing or crying, we are a part of this Universe, right along with every other sentient being, near and far.
We should always know that we are a part of the greater energy. We are an important part of existence. And let us always notice this.
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“Crying does not indicate that you are weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you are alive.” — Charlotte Brontë
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“We are all connected. What unites us is our shared humanity.” — Desmond Tutu
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“No one is alone. We are all waves in the same ocean.” — Ryunosuke Satoro
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