Here is why smart people tend to spend more time alone

Is it possible to be happy based on the number of social relationships we have?

Apparently yes, or at least that is what the researchers Kanazawa and Li tell us, authors of the study entitled "Country roads, take me home ... to my friends: How intelligence, population density, and friendship affect modern happiness" published in the  British Journal of Psychology.

In the study, they address the "The Savannah Theory of Happiness", where socialization is proportionate to one's IQ.

via bigthink.com

Human societies are constantly evolving and adapting to every new epochal change (climate, globalization, Internet, etc). And, that of interpersonal relationships is no exception. In fact, despite the fact that interaction with other people is part of the genetic code of each of us, over the centuries everyone has a different approach to the social sphere.

In fact, according to these two scholars, there are individuals who are more or less sociable based on their level of intelligence, and as a consequence are more satisfied or not with their life. Kanazawa and Li's theory states that people with a higher than average IQ prefer to have very few friends or to be alone to be happy.

Their conclusions are the result of the analysis of a sample of responses from 15,000 participants between the ages of 18 and 28 in a national survey. According to the collected data, the happiness of the individuals can be measured in proportion to the environment where they live and the number of social interactions that they have, and in the case of the most intelligent the numbers speak clearly --- fewer relationships with others equals more satisfaction with one's own life. But how is this possible?

The two researchers argue that the social aspect in some individuals has changed in the course of the evolution of human societies since it takes on a different connotation from the past each time. In fact, if once it was necessary to "be part of a team" to survive, for example in hunting an animal to get food, today it is not like that anymore. If you are intelligent, you already have everything you need to live a happy and satisfied life, without having to rely on someone. In short, the strongest can do without the others, but is it really like that? Is it possible to live alone?

In this social media era, one might think that, perhaps, the most intelligent people find it more difficult than others to find someone similar to their personality, and that, rather than feeling obliged to interact with incompatible individuals, they prefer solitude. In short ... it is better to be alone than in bad company!