Social comparison is natural human behavior and there are two types of it: upward social comparison, where we look at people who we feel are better off than we are and downward social comparison, where we look at people who we feel are worse off than we are. These comparisons aren’t always bad for us, but they can sometimes be less helpful than we think. 【小题1】

Whether social comparison is helpful or harmful is decided by our self-respect, the stressors (压力因素) we already have in our lives, and whether we’re making upward or downward social comparison. For example, when we make downward social comparison and compare ourselves to those who are less well-off, it generally makes us feel better. However, those who are experiencing greater threats or stress in their lives tend to use downward comparison more often. 【小题2】

In addition, social media has taken social comparison to a whole new level in the last few years. We see who is doing what were not, and we may become stressed wondering if we’re doing enough, earning enough, or enjoying life enough. 【小题3】 not knowing whether they’re just posting their highlights or they’re really sharing casual events as they happen.

If you feel somewhat hooked on (沉迷于) feelings of superiority from downward social comparison or beating yourself up when you make upward social comparison, it’s important to get out of this mental trap. To train your brain to care less about what others are doing or thinking, find role models and learn from them without adding the element of competitiveness to your own life. You can also create a supportive circle: 【小题4】. Or you can start an exercise group or join a training group.

【小题5】 if you’re feeling envious of someone else’s success. It also helps to maintain an ongoing gratitude journal so you stay in the frame of mind of counting your blessings rather than what you lack. Additionally, it’s also a good idea to develop a habit of helping others and seeing what small things you can do to do for your friends and strangers.

When asked why he or she wears clothes, some people will probably answer “to keep warm and to cover my body”. These are the basic reasons why clothes are worn, but people also want to look attractive and appear successful to others.

If people only wore clothes for warmth and to cover their bodies, most clothes would be simple and cheap. In most Western countries, however, clothes are sometimes very expensive. The main reason for this is not the cost of the cloth or the cost of making the clothes. The clothes are expensive because of fashion.

Successful businessmen, for example, often wear very expensive suits, shirts and ties. Sometimes they pay thousands of dollars for a suit and hundreds of dollars for a tie. It’s just a suit and a tie but they pay these prices because of the famous name of the designer. A suit costing much less would be just as warm and would cover the wearer’s body just as well.

Fashion is always changing, which means those who want to be fashionable have to buy new clothes every few months, even if last month's clothes have only been worn once or twice. Some people have wardrobes full of clothes that have hardly been worn but are no longer in fashion. Being fashionable, therefore, can be a very expensive pastime!

Think about a remote control. Something so simple in function is seemingly capable of invisible magic to most of us. Only those with an engineering and electronics background probably have any real idea of why a remote control works. The rest of us just assume it should. And the longer a given technology exists, the more we take it for granted.

Consider for a moment a split screen showing modern remote control users versus the first remote control users: the original users would be carefully aiming the remote directly at the television, reading the names of the buttons to find the right one, and intentionally pressing the button with a force that adds nothing to the effectiveness of the device. The modern users would be leaning on a sofa, pointing the remote any which way, and instinctively feeling for the button they desired, intuiting (凭直觉知道) its size, shape, and position on the remote.

Humans are known for being handy with tools, so it is no surprise that we get so comfortable with our technology. However, as we become increasingly comfortable with how to use new technologies, we become less aware of how they work. Most people who use modern technology know nothing of its underlying science. They have spent neither mental nor financial resources on its development. And yet, rather than be humbled by its originality, we consumers often become unfairly demanding of what our technology should do for us.

Many of the landmark inventions of the twentieth century followed predictable tracks: initial versions of each technology (television, video games, computers, cell phones, etc.) succeeded in impressing the general public. Then, these wonderful new inventions quickly became commonplace. Soon, the focus of consumer attitudes towards them changed from gratitude with respect to discriminating preference.

Televisions needed to be bigger and have a higher resolution. Video games needed to be more realistic. Computers needed to be more powerful yet smaller in size. Cell phones needed to be smaller yet capable of performing other tasks such as taking pictures, accessing the Internet, and even playing movies.

For children of the last twenty years born into this modern life, these technological marvels seem like elements of the periodic table: a given ingredient that is simply part of the universe. Younger generations don’t even try to imagine life without modern conveniences. They do not appreciate the unprecedented (史无前例的) technology that is in their possession; rather, they complain about the ways in which it fails to live up to ideal expectations. “My digital video recorder at home doesn’t allow me to program it from my computer at work.” “It’s taking too long for this interactive map to display on my portable GPS”.

If it sounds as though we’re never satisfied, we aren’t. Of course, our complaints do actually motivate engineers to continually refine their products. After all, at the root of our tool-making instinct is the notion that “there must be a better way.” Thus, the shortcomings of any current version of technology are pinned on the limitations of its designers, and the expectation is that someone, somewhere is working on how to make the existing product even better.