What did you get on the quiz?

…is the worst thing to hear when you see your grade drop in the gradebook. This phrase is annoying, nosy, and irrelevant. However, it becomes a totally different case when you hear someone else do worse than you on that history quiz.

Now, this phrase doesn’t seem too bad. It’s not that you take pleasure in someone failing a quiz, you take pleasure in knowing that you aren’t alone in failing. By someone else doing worse, you get a quick self-esteem boost because the realization that you are technically smarter kicks in.

This psychological phenomenon is schadenfreude, a German word that means “joy in other’s misfortune”, and one of the most complex yet common human emotions. Schadenfreude is a blend of amusement, guilt, and curiosity to why we feel better when someone else is worsening.

Schadenfreude can be traced back to ancient Greece, with philosophers like Aristotle noting the strange pleasure people take in “deserved suffering.” In modern life, schadenfreude can look like your friend tripping in the halls, or a rival football team losing a big game. Our first thought isn’t to comfort the other person, but to enjoy ourselves in their suffering. The complex emotion stems from comparison, the thief of joy. We compare ourselves to others to improve ourselves to be the best and keep up with societal norms, so if someone does worse, we feel superior. Comparison helps us identify our definition of success and if we are meeting the standards.

Schadenfreude seems like a pessimistic emotion, but it truly depends on the context of the situation. The intricate emotion is reflected in how severe the suffering is to the other person, that factor is one of many that determines if schadenfreude is healthy or not. Deserved suffering is an example of healthy schadenfreude, as you feel a sense of justice when the other person got karma, or when your friend spills something on them. This is all healthy as it strengthens social bonds and is harmless. However, laughing when someone genuinely feels upset can easily spiral into cruelty. This complex emotion isn’t inherently healthy or unhealthy, but schadenfreude is natural, meaning it can be twisted to improve yourself or impair yourself.

Another factor that determines if schadenfreude is toxic is how we react to experiencing this feeling. Feeling schadenfreude doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you human. Focusing on other’s failures can build a superiority complex. In the end, you aren’t improving yourself, and you gain a false sense of happiness purely built on other’s failures instead of being built on your own accomplishments or lessons learned. Another consequence of unhealthy schadenfreude is pushing yourself to be the most superior, which takes a serious toll mentally.

Recognizing your failures and how they differ from other people’s lows teaches you about your own insecurities. Building off of insecurities to better yourself is not only healthy, but it fosters a positive start of self-improvement.

Since this emotion is so complicated, maintaining your reactions to schadenfreude is equally as frustrating. Instead of denying you feel happy that others are failing, accept, recognize and identify why you are happy. It could stem from insecurities, jealousy, frustration, maybe a sense of justice. Schadenfreude varies per situation and is a broad emotion. Laugh when it’s harmless, but learn when it’s not. Reflection is key when shifting comparison to empathy, and at the end of the day we are all human. Schadenfreude is not necessarily good or bad, but it provides a good view on our flaws, humour, and compassion.