Owning A Pet Makes People Around The World Happier, Finds New Study

Adopting a pet entails a significant commitment. But a new study has determined that owning a pet makes people around the world happier.

It is no secret that people adore their pets, but are they really any happier than non-pet owners? A new study reveals that the answer is indeed yes because of all the pictures pet owners take with their furry pals!

Researchers with Petplan conducted a global analysis utilizing artificial intelligence and discovered that pet owners are substantially happier than their neighbors who do not have pets. In actuality, having a pet boosts general happiness internationally by more than 22%.

That smile says everything!

During this investigation, a team from the pet insurance company looked at more than 250,000 pet owner selfies on Instagram and Google Images using the AI facial recognition tool from Microsoft Azure. This gave them the ability to measure how much happier people are overall, no matter where they live.

Researchers particularly examined images taken by dog, cat, and rabbit owners across all OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations. Each image was located by researchers using the #selfie hashtag along with pet-related hashtags like #dogowner and #rabbitowner. Then, using clear images of faces, Microsoft Azure’s Face API tool determined the intensity of each emotion, rating it from 0 to 100.

The software assessed 9,000 photos from that sizable pool, scoring them for observable emotions like happiness, fear, and contempt. The study discovers that pet owners have an average happiness score of 59.3 percent, which is higher than the general happiness score of 36.8 percent.

It’s hard not to smile in Belgium and New Zealand!

Despite the fact that having a pet makes individuals happier wherever they reside, the survey indicates that New Zealanders are the world’s happiest pet owners. Pet owners scored on average 88.4 for happiness, according to the AI tool. Brazil (83.8%) and Hungary (81.6%) have the highest percentages of pet owners. The United States did appear on the list, however it came in at number 14 with an average happiness score of 70.7 among pet owners.

In terms of how much having a pet improves happiness compared to the typical human, Belgium is the country where pet ownership has the biggest positive impact. There, the ordinary pet owner is astonishingly 172.8% happier than the typical person! In China, pets increase happiness by over 150 percent and by 158 percent in Canada. Again, the U.S. came in at number 14, but having a pet still increases happiness by 87.3 percent, or nearly twice as much as the typical person.

Interestingly, Brazilians are the happy dog owners (94.2 on average), New Zealanders are the happiest with cats (89.4), and Dutch people are the happiest with bunnies (78.7).

Overall, owners of rabbits share the most positive social media postings about their four-legged friends (71.4%), followed by owners of dogs (67.9%%) and cats (64.7 percent ).

What do pets bring into our lives?

The Petplan researchers point out that having a pet significantly enhances one’s wellbeing. According to the researchers, pet owners—especially dog owners who regularly walk their dogs—often become more physically active and healthy. This enables pet owners to socialize with new people while still having their furry friend by their side.

The team notes that pet owners might even experience an improvement in their mental well-being, a better planned daily schedule, and the development of new interests.

Adopting a pet entails a significant commitment, of course. Anyone considering bringing a pet home should think about the time, money, and care they will need to dedicate to their new friend, according to researchers.