The Surprising Truth About Finding Beauty

What makes someone notice beauty in everyday life? Researchers asked over 131,000 people across 22 countries a simple question: "Do you regularly experience things that you consider beautiful?" The answers were eye-opening.

Surprisingly, some childhood hardships are linked to a greater appreciation of beauty, suggesting a complex path to a rich inner life.

In South Africa and Nigeria, about 90% of people said yes. In Japan, only 44% did. That is a huge gap. It shows that experiencing beauty is not just about what is around you — it is shaped by culture, upbringing, and personal history.

The researchers looked at many factors. Education stood out: people with 16 or more years of schooling were more likely to report beauty than those with eight or fewer years (83% versus 70%). Younger people tended to report more beauty than older adults. Students topped the list among employment groups at 83%. Religion was also relevant.

People who attended religious services more than once a week had the highest rates of beauty experiences (82%), compared to 73% among those who never attended. And childhood religious attendance mattered too — people who went to services weekly as kids were more likely to experience beauty as adults. Then came a surprise. People who reported being abused as children were slightly more likely to report experiencing beauty as adults. The researchers were careful to note this does not mean abuse has an "upside." But it suggests that suffering might sometimes make people more sensitive and open to the world in ways that include noticing beauty. Similar patterns showed up for other difficult childhood experiences, like having parents who divorced or died. Gender made almost no difference — men and women reported beauty at nearly identical rates. But here is the catch: almost none of these patterns held everywhere. What was true in one country was often untrue in another. The study reminds us that beauty is deeply personal, but also deeply cultural — and that we cannot assume what is true in one part of the world applies everywhere.