SINGAPORE: An unhappy Reddit user recently took to the platform to air their views about Singapore society and wanted to know if others feel the same way.
“Do you think life in Singapore is just a race to the bottom?” asked the aptly named u/GlumCandidate6233 in an Oct 8 (Wednesday) post on r/askSingapore.
“Recently I’ve been wondering if living in Singapore is less about building a happy life and more about seeing who can endure the most misery while calling it ‘success’,” they wrote.
The post author added that life in Singapore has become hyper competitive, in large part because of its small size, and that “it feels like we’re all locked in a never-ending endurance contest.”
They listed three things to prove their point.
The first is housing. While HDBs and condos get smaller, their prices have been on the increase, although this does not guarantee better homes.
“It just means we’re all forced to work longer, grind harder, and pay more just to secure a roof over our heads,” they wrote.
The second is car ownership, as Singapore is one of the most expensive countries across the globe where a person can own and operate a car. For the post author, it’s an “auction to see who can push their limits and outbid everyone else,” but winning a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) just “feels like you’ve just volunteered to take on a bigger burden.”
The third item is retail and rentals, with rental rates continuing to go up and the high prices that end up affecting consumers.
“In the end, it doesn’t feel like Singapore society is about maximising happiness. It feels more like a constant test to see who’s willing to sacrifice more comfort, sanity, and freedom just to stay afloat,” the post author wrote, asking, “Are we really progressing, or are we just competing in who can tolerate the most unhappiness?”
Commenters gave the post author some pushback, with some saying that one’s happiness can depend on what they believe they need to satisfy them.
“The biggest freedom is learning to change what you can and accept what you can’t, and contentment comes from within,” wrote one.
“Ain’t this the truth. Comparison is the thief of joy,” noted another.
A commenter disagreed, however, writing, “A coping mechanism in the face of everything is to accept things as they are and be contented with what each of us already has, but to me, this is an ostrich mentality because if nothing changes and everything remains status quo, things will only get worse from here onwards.”
A Reddit user who tended to agree with many of the post author’s points wrote: “We are a victim of our own success. We got from the 3rd World to the 1st World, but our living wages still haven’t reached the level of first world countries, while our working hours are one of the highest worldwide — thus the imbalance and unhappiness, and an additional public holiday or a 4-day work week doesn’t sound sweet for our govt and businesses.” /TISG
Read also: Singapore’s Wealthiest Are The Most Unhappy In Asia With Their Current State Of Work-Life Balance
