Love, money, health? SWS survey reveals what Filipinos value most
A woman cleans their Valentine decoration at their establishment in Cubao, Quezon City, Feb. 13, 2018. Michael Varcas/The Star
MANILA, Philippines — A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed yesterday that majority of adult Filipinos still value their health over love and money.
The survey was conducted by SWS from December 12 to 16 last year. It showed 57% of the respondents chose health, while 31% chose love, and 11% chose money. This survey results may be because of the current global pandemic.
The 2021 figure is 13 points lower than the results of the December 2019 survey before the pandemic, wherein 70% chose health. The preference for love meanwhile rose by 8 points from 23%, and preference for money rose by 4 points from 7%.
The preference for health over love and money also rises with education, with 64% of women who are college graduates choosing health over love and money. Fifty-eight percent of male college graduates have the same preference.
The same survey also showed that 84% of respondents are more attracted to a person's brain than their body, up by 3 points from the 81 percent in December 2019. Preference for brains over body is also slightly higher among women at 88%, compared to 81% among men.
Among women, preference for brains over body is highest among single women at 90%. It is also highest among women between the ages of 18 to 24 at 91%, followed by those in the 24 to 34 age range at 89%.
Ninety-two percent of female college graduates also prefer brains over body.
The percentages for men's preference for brains over body hardly varies by civil status, ranging from 80 to 82%.
Compared to the December 2019 survey, those very happy with their love life hardly changed from 54%, while those who said they "could be happier" fell by 4 points from 32 percent. Those who do not have a love life also rose by 4 points from 14%.
In general, married men and women have a happier love life compared to those who are single or with live-in partners.
Sixty-eight percent of married men said they are "very happy" with their love life, while 62% of married women said the same.
In terms of age, men 35 years old and above are happier with their love life, while women between 25 to 54 years old are happier with their love life.
The December 2021 survey interviewed 1,440 adult respondents using face-to-face interviews. Of the respondents, 360 each came from Metro Manila, with a balance among those from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The December 12 to 16 survey has sampling error margins of ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5.2% each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
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