Comparison of Americans’ Weird Habits

Smartphones are more important than sex and waffles measure storm severity.

America is facing its biggest threat to its existence. Not terrorism or the threat of weapons of mass destruction, but from mobile phones. A survey published by Statista last February revealed that moreAmericans would rather live without sex than without their phone. It’s one of those odd insights about us that cast doubt to our collective “superior” perception of our culture over the rest of the world.

Inspired by this social shock, I started tinkering with other survey results that might corroborate my armchair findings. True enough, a pattern emerged. Had I not known I was reading social insights about us—Americans—I’d have easily thought these behavioral quirks are by some communities far deep in the Congolese jungle.

Imagine a society where an increasing number of its members would rather sleep (just sleep) with a different mammal and put that in the context of an increasing number of people who believe living with another person is an option. It’s not a natural evolutionary trend. That’s us. Fifty-eight percent of Americans sleep with their cat or dog, and 27% of us are living today in one-person household, a significant increase from 17% in the seventies.

I’ve compiled other revealing behavioral facts about us that are quite funny. The French may exalt their ratatouille and the Chinese their Szechuan chicken to visitors. Both dishes are rooted in the heritage of their place of origin. On the other hand, we Americans are proud of our barbecue; it’s the top American food we’ll recommend to tourists. Surely, we can do better than suggesting meat cooked over charcoal as a national cuisine, I mean, even Cro-Magnons knew barbecue.

In the study, “The Weirdest People in the World,” behavioral scientists from the University of British Columbia in Canada rebut the traditional scientific theory that all humans have similar psychological traits. It turned out that Americans are somewhat isolated in liking the idea of getting the bigger slice of the pie, a trait frowned upon in other cultures. The researchers even labeled Americans as “weird,” meaning, different.

The study created a buzz in anthropology.  A review of the top six psychological journals in 2008 revealed that nearly 96% of subjects in psychological studies were Westerners and about 70% of them were Americans. In short, most behavioral studies used subjects from just 12% of the world’s population.

That should explain why we think other people are odd. To put everything in perspective, we may be the biggest member in the bird kingdom, but other birds may see the ostrich as strikingly odd.

Tweetable Facts:

• 44% of Americans sleep with their phones, and only 20% of them can’t imagine their lives without sex
• Lipstick sales and hemline lengths are actually quite accurate in measuring the strength of US economy
• FEMA uses Waffle House menu & opening hours to estimate how bad a situation is after a storm

CHECK OUT MORE ODD AMERICAN BEHAVIORS IN OUR INFOGRAPHIC BELOW:

Originally posted on Finances Online. Republished with permission.