It’s no secret that the internet has had somewhat of a toxic effect on the world.
And it all comes down to generosityspecificallyinfectiousgenerosity.
The idea they came up with was certainly creative.
They decided to give it away anonymously to strangers, $10,000 at a time.
“It will be exciting, surprising, somewhat time-consuming, possibly stressful, but possibly also life-changing.”
No mention of money.
They could spend ithowever they wanted.
The only major rules were:
It had to be spent over the next three months.
They had to report back to us on what they spent it on.
There was one other key twist.
Half the group was encouraged to keep the news private.
(There was also a control group of 100 who got only a small fee to fill in surveys.
Unlucky for them, but they did add crucial scientific validity to the experiment.)
The Response
The results were genuinely exciting.
On average,only a thirdof the money was spent on their own wants and needs.
The rest was devoted to friends, family members, and outside causes.
Perhaps people will do that with money they have earned.
Instead she gave 10 million rupiah to a co-worker to whom she felt grateful.
And the same again to another.
She donated millions of rupiah to the World Wildlife Fund and to flood victims and to a pet-rescue charity.
She paid for health checkups for members of her family.
It makes the recipient feel seen.
It’s like handing them their self-respect.
It builds a bridge of connection between the giver and the recipient.
So I wanted to make other people feel seen, just like how I had felt seen.""
That instant desire to reciprocate was articulated beautifully by Claire Maxwell, from Canada.
She said, “I often thought of the donors and my sense of wanting to make them proud.
It was a privilege to share their gift with others.”
Many joined in until, together, we were able to make a gift of $27,000.
Generosity inspires generosity."
(To be clear, there was absolutely no formal obligation that they should do so.
They were told they could spend the money however they chose.
Most prior experiments had been based on small gifts made to psychology students at universities.
This was the biggest study done with a much larger sum involved and activated in multiple countries.
In every single culture and at every single income level, people responded to generosity in kind.
To start your giving journey,readInfectious Generosity, by Chris Anderson.
