Humans may have evolved a need to connect with nature, and nature provides substantial cultural and social values to humans. However, quantifying the connection between humans and nature at a global scale remains challenging. We lack answers to fundamental questions: how do humans experience nature in different contexts (daily routines, fun activities, weddings, honeymoons, other celebrations, and vacations) and how do nature experiences differ across countries? We answer these questions by coupling social media and artificial intelligence using 31,534 social media photographs across 185 countries. We find that nature was more likely to appear in photographs taken during a fun activity, honeymoon, or vacation compared to photographs of daily routines. More importantly, the proportion of photographs with nature taken during fun activities is associated with national life satisfaction scores. This study provides global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis by showing a connection between humans and nature that contributes to life satisfaction and highlights how nature serves as background to many of our positive memories.

人类可能已经进化出与自然联系的需求，自然为人类提供了实质性的文化和社会价值。然而，在全球范围内量化人与自然之间的联系仍然具有挑战性。我们缺乏以下基本问题的答案：人类如何在不同的环境（例行日程，娱乐活动，婚礼，蜜月，其他庆祝活动和假期）中体验自然，并且各国之间的自然体验有何不同？我们通过使用185个国家/地区的31,534张社交媒体照片将社交媒体和人工智能结合起来，回答了这些问题。我们发现，与日常活动相比，在娱乐活动，蜜月旅行或度假期间拍摄的照片中更容易出现大自然。更重要的是，在娱乐活动中拍摄的具有自然风光的照片的比例与国民生活满意度得分相关。这项研究通过展示人与自然之间的联系，这有助于提高生活满意度，并强调自然如何成为我们许多积极记忆的背景，从而提供了亲生物假说的全球证据。