While plenty of people can feel for others when they experience hardships, freudenfreude allows humans to celebrate each other’s successes as though they are their own.
While relationships were once marked by competition, the capacity for freudenfreude has allowed countless people the opportunity to celebrate alongside their friends and even acquaintances with real feelings of joy and pride at the achievements of others. Many people mark empaths by their ability to feel for other people, though this is often only considered in terms of unhappy situations. However, it’s also possible to share in other people’s emotions when they are positive. That’s why freudenfreude is on the rise, especially when it comes to female friendships.
What Is Freudenfreude?
“Freudenfreude” is what social scientists have termed the ability to find pleasure in the good fortune of someone else. The German word has circulated in English media thanks to a New York Times article. Freudenfreude means celebrating when your competitor beats you because you are happy for their success or cheering on a friend’s promotion as though it was your own. Freudenfreude enables people to feel the same emotions they would have for their own victory when it occurs for someone else. This is a unique concept that is being explored in social sciences, as it impacts the dynamics of friendship and community.
Freudenfreude is the opposite of the German term “schadenfreude,” which is the joy and satisfaction that arises when witnessing the misfortune of another. While both terms describe essentially the same feelings, they occur for vastly different reasons. Meanwhile, they both lead to different long-term consequences for the person who feels them. Those who experience schadenfreude delight in the demise of others, while people who experience freudenfreude find themselves actively rooting for other people and sharing in their victory even if there are no personal benefits for them. The latter has far more lasting benefits.
The Evolution of Freudenfreude For Women
The emergence of freudenfreude is perhaps most prevalent in the evolution of female friendships. While freudenfreude isn’t specific to women, it is something that has become more normalized, prominent and celebrated over the years as women band together to support each other and have each other’s backs in countless movements. Female friendships are also marked by far less competition and pettiness than what plagued relationships in the early 2000s, as the standard norm in Western Culture is now to celebrate fellow women and cheer along with the achievements of friends even if they are simply people one has met online.
Though it isn’t always genuine, many examples of freudenfreude are present on social media amongst the young generation as well. Even the current Gen-Z slang has evolved to reflect the uptick of freudenfreude in society. Terms such as “yaas queen” and “she is the moment” or even simple compliments such as “drip” and “snack” reflect women’s desire to point out and celebrate each other’s achievements and beauty. Perhaps the expansive opportunities of the internet have allowed more people to celebrate each other’s growth rather than feel threatened to compete. Or maybe women simply got sick of the media pitting them against each other and made a collective choice to celebrate each other instead.
Does Freudenfreude Have Benefits?
Nations such as America that tend to focus on individual achievement and progress at the expense of community building might not seem inherently equipped to cultivate freudenfreude. However, many individuals are proving that they can feel genuine joy for others. Freudenfreude isn’t just a facade, as it encompasses the actual ability to share in one’s joy. This in turn has many benefits for both parties.
For one, the person being celebrated has the unity, support, and cheer of the community as their achievements are recognized by more than just themselves. This strengthens relationships and provides a critical sense of belonging that benefits all sides. Building a community can have a positive effect on both mental and physical health. Meanwhile, the person who feels freudenfreude can share in all the positive emotions of someone else’s success such as excitement, joy, and achievement. Furthermore, freudenfreude can foster feelings of resilience and satisfaction for the person expressing it.
Can Freudenfreude Be Created?
The good news is that freudenfreude is something that can be cultivated, as explored in the New York Times article. If you are someone who doesn’t naturally celebrate others and is instead more prone to resenting those who get things you want, you don’t have to fret. These feelings are normal and natural. However, they can be converted into freudenfreude in many cases to transform resentment into real joy.
How does one go about feeling good for others? First, remember that it’s normal and natural to feel emotions such as envy, disappointment, and even resentment. But consider the transience of these feelings. It might be impossible to cultivate freudenfreude in some situations, but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t try to reconsider the situation. When someone else succeeds, that isn’t an indication of one’s personal failure. Factors such as depression can damper one’s ability to share in the joys of others’ success, but developing a different mindset can allow people to conceptualize the successes of others as something to be celebrated.
In order to cultivate freudenfreude, one should actively seek to explore the achievements of other people by asking questions and becoming involved. Other people’s happiness should be energetically celebrated, while individual success can also be shared. When you achieve things, be sure to credit the people who helped them become realized. Success doesn’t have to be conceptualized as an individual achievement, but rather as a group effort. Remember, the simple act of participating in the joy of another and expressing your happiness for someone else can have a big impact on your attitude as well. And in turn, there might be more people at your side when you have something to celebrate.
Continued Reading: Women Supporting Women