Envy is the term reserved for the begrudging of another’s possession of an attribute or relationship that one would like to have for oneself; envy implies no threat of relationship loss, only a desire to possess what another has and thereby deprive him or her of it. This begrudging of the other’s possession is what distinguishes envy from mere coveting, the desire to have what another has without also depriving him or her of it. The distinctions between jealousy and envy are mirrored in the etymologies of the two words. The derivation of the word jealous is from the same Greek root ( zelos ) as zealous. Zealousness connotes a strong devotion to the promotion of a specific person or object.
David A. Destino and Peter Salovey, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
Babbage’s column in The Economist “reports on the intersection between science, technology, culture and policy.” Today’s column discusses all the miraculous ways we now have, via the internet, to find out about our neighbours without ever having to actually speak to them in person. We can be envious and vindictive about their choices in housing, work, children, political contributions, land values et al. from the shadowy corner of TechnologyLand.
Spying on your neighbours online – or in person for that matter – is like eating a super-sized bag of corn chips: greatly, greasily satisfying going down then a bloated, guilt-inducing, acrid experience thereafter. It’s creepy. It’s dissatisfying. It will not lead to social or economic advancement. It is another nail in the coffin of intimacy between neighbours, friends, and passing acquaintances. But there is a sage and time-tested antidote to the siren call of cyber-peeping, to which I am not immune. Plato invoked us to “Know thyself.” I say mind your own damn business and watch your personal happiness index rise.