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"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya discusses the complex emotion of schadenfreude, exploring its psychological roots, its connection to self-esteem, and how social media amplifies it, while encouraging readers to reflect on their own reactions and use them for personal growth.
By IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O'Shea
Picture this: you're driving to work and notice a car up ahead driving aggressively, speeding, and cutting off other drivers as they weave in and out of traffic. A couple of hundred metres down the road, you approach flashing lights and see that same car pulled over by the police. You can't help but smile to yourself as you pass by.
Those feelings of joy and satisfaction derived from someone else’s misfortune are something I’m sure we’ve all experienced at some point in our lives. This phenomenon is known as schadenfreude, a German term that combines "Schaden" (harm) and "Freude" (joy). It perfectly describes that sneaky little pleasure we get from someone else's misfortune.
Now imagine you're in a meeting and a colleague is presenting a project, taking the credit for a project that you and your team spent weeks working on. When the manager asks a question, they are unable to answer, you might feel a twinge of schadenfreude when you see them struggling to respond. Or you might decide to take the higher ground and offer support instead.
Schadenfreude is a complex aspect of human psychology, involving an interplay between our emotions and cognitive processes. On the surface, it may seem that schadenfreude is an emotion that only someone lacking compassion or empathy might feel, however the reality is that the phenomenon reflects much deeper aspects of mainstream human behaviour and social interaction.
Interestingly, how often we feel schadenfreude can be linked to our self-esteem. When we're happy and content with our own lives, we're less likely to compare ourselves to others and, therefore, less likely to feel joy at other people’s misfortunes. But when we're feeling a bit insecure or envious, those moments of schadenfreude can pop up more frequently.
Social media has taken schadenfreude to a whole new level. Think about the last time you were aimlessly scrolling through social media. You come across a video of a celebrity getting caught in an awkward moment or saying something embarrassing during an interview. What was your reaction? Did it make you giggle? Why? Was it because of the person that it happened to?
Schadenfreude is a normal human emotion, however, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on why we feel it. Instead of just enjoying someone else's slip-up, we can use these moments to notice our own reaction, and question why we responded in the way that we did.
Let’s give it a go. Imagine feeling schadenfreude towards a successful friend. What is coming up for you – is it envy, jealousy, rivalry or maybe even social comparison? Try not to judge your reaction and instead, compassionately try to understand what sits behind those feelings. Stick with it, and eventually you might even find a way to shift your mindset and turn a negative emotion into a positive drive towards achieving your own goals!
At the end of the day, schadenfreude is just one of the many emotions that make us human. By acknowledging it and understanding its roots, we can grow and build healthier, more empathetic relationships.
