We think fun an important element of life, characterised since the sixties as 'sex, drugs and rock and roll'. And indeed, what would life be without those? But there's rising evidence that we no longer know how to have fun, and some argue it is starting to threaten our pleasure in being alive. Studies show adults have 40% less sex than they did thirty years ago, drug taking in young people has decreased by over a third since 2003, and a quarter of those under 35 have no interest in alcohol at all. Only half of Americans think they have fun on a regular basis, while in Britain a study concluded working from home has led to millions losing the knack of having a good time. Meanwhile, mental health is deteriorating across all generations but particularly in the young.
Should we conclude that fun is not a superficial addition to our lives but essential? Is spontaneous interaction with others necessary for fun and has an increasingly virtual and internet world undermined this? Or was Epicurus wrong and the pursuit of pleasure a dangerous and mistaken strategy?
Journalist and filmmaker Myriam François, author of Philosophy in a Meaningless Life James Tartaglia, and the mind behind the Substack Girls Freya India, debate the philosophy of fun.