A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given
time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. The behaviors and
practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned
actions. The term is defined more broadly when used in politics, marketing, and publishing.
A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual's attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a
means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not
all aspects of a lifestyle are entirely voluntaristic. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain
the lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she or he is able to project to others and
the self,
The lines between personal identity and the everyday doings that signal a particular lifestyle become
blurred in modern society, For example, "green lifestyle" means holding beliefs and engaging in
activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a smaller carbon
footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these beliefs and engaging in these activities.
Some commentators argue that, in modernity, the cornerstone of lifestyle construction is consumption
behavior, which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with different products
or services that signal different ways of life,
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term
is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and
politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based
primarily on income. Instead, standard indicators of the quality of life include not only wealth and
employment, but also the built environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and
leisure time, and social belonging,
While Quality of Life (QOL) has long been an explicit or implicit policy goal, adequate definition and
measurement have been elusive. Diverse "objective" and "subjective" indicators across a range of
disciplines and scales, and recent work on subjective well-being (SWB) surveys and the psychology of
happiness have spurred renewed interest,
Also frequently related are concepts such as freedom, human rights, and happiness, However,
since happiness is subjective and hard to measure, other measures are generally given priority. It
has also been shown that happiness, as much as it can be measured, does not necessarily increase
correspondingly with the comfort that results from increasing income. As a result, standard of living
should not be taken to be a measure of happiness,
Organizations such as the World Bank, for example, declare a goal of "working for a world free of
poverty". With poverty defined as a lack of basic human needs, such as food, water, shelter, freedom,
access to education, health care, or employment. In other words, poverty is defined as a low quality of
life. Using this definition, the World Bank works towards improving quality of life through
with the stated goal of lowering poverty and helping people afford a better quality of life.
Because of these differences in the theory and practice of development, there is also a wide range of
quantitative measures used to describe quality of life.
time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. The behaviors and
practices within lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasoned
actions. The term is defined more broadly when used in politics, marketing, and publishing.
A lifestyle typically also reflects an individual's attitudes, values or worldview. Therefore, a lifestyle is a
means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not
all aspects of a lifestyle are entirely voluntaristic. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain
the lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she or he is able to project to others and
the self,
The lines between personal identity and the everyday doings that signal a particular lifestyle become
blurred in modern society, For example, "green lifestyle" means holding beliefs and engaging in
activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a smaller carbon
footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these beliefs and engaging in these activities.
Some commentators argue that, in modernity, the cornerstone of lifestyle construction is consumption
behavior, which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with different products
or services that signal different ways of life,
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term
is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and
politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of living, which is based
primarily on income. Instead, standard indicators of the quality of life include not only wealth and
employment, but also the built environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation and
leisure time, and social belonging,
While Quality of Life (QOL) has long been an explicit or implicit policy goal, adequate definition and
measurement have been elusive. Diverse "objective" and "subjective" indicators across a range of
disciplines and scales, and recent work on subjective well-being (SWB) surveys and the psychology of
happiness have spurred renewed interest,
Also frequently related are concepts such as freedom, human rights, and happiness, However,
since happiness is subjective and hard to measure, other measures are generally given priority. It
has also been shown that happiness, as much as it can be measured, does not necessarily increase
correspondingly with the comfort that results from increasing income. As a result, standard of living
should not be taken to be a measure of happiness,
Organizations such as the World Bank, for example, declare a goal of "working for a world free of
poverty". With poverty defined as a lack of basic human needs, such as food, water, shelter, freedom,
access to education, health care, or employment. In other words, poverty is defined as a low quality of
life. Using this definition, the World Bank works towards improving quality of life through
with the stated goal of lowering poverty and helping people afford a better quality of life.
Because of these differences in the theory and practice of development, there is also a wide range of
quantitative measures used to describe quality of life.
