According to Gallup:
-47% of Americans were “very” satisfied with their personal lives in February 2024
-78% of Americans were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat satisfied’ (though I would argue that low level depression can exist with ppl who say they are ‘somewhat satisfied’ with their lives. i don’t considered ‘somewhat satisfied’ to mean ‘happy’ or ‘happy enough.’)
47% = very satisfied
31% = somewhat satisfied
22% = unhappy / very unhappy
At least this study, and studies SINCE covid, actually acknowledge that half the population aren’t all that happy. For all of my life, EVERY fucking study out there kept parroting how ‘95%’ or whatever large astronomical % of ppl are happy and that only a teeeeny weeeny 5% or so unhappy. Those #s / data never felt right to me, but article after article, ‘study’ after ‘study’ would always report these kinds of #s, since I’ve been looking at the published data since ~2000.
I’ve been looking at the happiness data for decades. FINALLY we are getting some honest fucking reporting.
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Ipsos Global Happiness 2024
-71% of people in 30 countries said they were very or rather happy.
Ipsos Global Happiness Study
-In a 2019 survey of 28 countries, Australia and Canada had the highest happiness rates, with 86% of adults saying they were very or rather happy.
General Social Survey
-According to the GSS, married women with children between the ages of 18 and 55 were the happiest, with 40% reporting they were ‘very happy’.
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At what age are humans happiest?
The researchers found people reached their happiest when they arrived at the age of 70.
-Anyone think this is bullshit? Like all the ppl who are depressed/miserable probably have already died before age 70. Actually, most Americans DO NOT live till age 70. Yes yes, I know all the ‘studies’ that cite the avg age of death is ~78 but they are using the mean, not the mode. Meaning, most ppl die way before 67 (why do you think ‘retirement’ is set at 67? it’s bc most ppl don’t make it to that age). Those who live past 67, tend to live very very long, thus skewing the ‘average’ age of death.
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Hmm, this is confusing. I’m not sure whether to be happy or disappointed that it’s most likely for me to be my happiest at the age of 70, and it leans towards the latter when if the depression and miserable circumstances are either more of a constant or turbulent for you, the odds of reaching any kind of stability that isn’t some sort of default bottom seem low.
My view of the world could very well be slanted, and hell, it is, to my own perception, but I feel like in terms of reasons to be content with existence as a whole and reasons to not be, it’s very 50/50, split in favor of both if anything. Maybe it’s leaning a bit more towards being discontent, for a variety of reasons both in terms of what being discontent/unsatisfied means in this case and the severity of said reasons in general.
I mean, generally thinking about it there are tons of variables that could make any person, at any time being surveyed for these things, happy or unhappy with the state of their life and furthermore everything in relation to the world itself. For plenty of people one bit of information, should it be taken seriously and have some form of credibility, could give their worldview a 180, for better or worse. Talk about things such as free will and determinism for example, giving people a very divisive debate about the nature of their origins and existence as a result, and everyone is going to have very interesting reactions (including myself) for each iteration of the topic in terms of anything new being added to the mix. The craziest thing? It doesn’t even have to be that fundamental, considering how we all have these different things which are important to us. Could be as simple as someone cutting in front of you when you are at a movie theater trying to pick up subpar buttered popcorn (which is unfortunate enough).
Interesting results you brought up here nonetheless, thanks for sharing. If I were to ask, since you’ve been looking at data involving populations and their happiness, what means did all of these reports most commonly use to gather it exactly? Regardless of whether the results tend to be heavily skewed or not (they seem to be in this case obviously), the methodology is quite important.
Well that’s the issue I brought up above in my post- the results are almost always skewed bc you can’t trust that these “studies” are done well- with good methodology. All countries have a bias to publish “good” data about their own country. So ofc studies that make a country look bad- like a very high suicide rate or high rate of depression- gets nixed. I mean shit, these days the word “suicide” isn’t even fucking allowed on YouTube and other social media. Fcking nuts.
Yeah, as long as you erase the word, depression and suicide just disappears. -_-
To say the least, darn, I don’t think putting such topics behind the curtains in a situation does anything for the discourse surrounding them or more specifically the rationale for them. Whether it’s trying to protect possibly impressionable people social media wise or keeping up whatever “appearances” a country is supposed to have (to whatever degree that’s possible), it’s kind of forgetting the point about what these studies and furthermore coverage on suicide, depression and generally just very bad situations life wise are supposed to accomplish. If they wanted to boost any sort of reputation, there are better ways than not putting the proper amount of effort into what is generally regarded as a sensitive topic by the same people in the first place.
Also, like I said, I don’t believe the age everyone is happiest is 70. First of all, 1/3 of ALL Americans DIE BEFORE 65. Talk about biased. Everyone who’s ever suicided, or died by alcohol, drugs, fentanyl, whatever thing- are no longer part of the age 70 group. How convenient!
Also, all the unhealthy ppl, disabled, and usually very poor- all die before age 70. So guess what- they are also no longer part of the age 70 happy group. No shit.
So by the time age 70 rolls around, all the sad, depressed, poor, sick fuckers are already dead, so BAM! Highest rate of satisfaction at age “70.”
But even then, I still don’t believe the #s. I’ve joined an elderly group- yes- I’m not elderly but I have chronic health issues and the ONLY ppl who understand are the sick or old. And in the old ppl group I’m in (it’s a very large online group)- the old ppl are miserable- well, the ones with health issues. I’d say half are lucky to be not have health issues as 70+ but at least half of them do. And THEY sure aren’t fucking “happy.”
So no- I don’t believe these “studies.” Just bc some ppl published something doesn’t mean it’s true. I’ve learned that over the last 8 years, since the government and corporations and big pha.rma and MSM has been lying and gaslighting us since the dawn of time and to NOT trust them.
A whole ton of pressure comes off between 55 and 65. In my state they just moved the elderly line from 53 to 55, and it bothers me because it seems cruel to the elderly. Some of them won’t make it to 55.
So now you hit 55 in Oklahoma and you get to eat. Yay. You hit 60 and you get medical. That is unless we lose this next election, they want to push it to 70, which as you observed is a death sentence.
So if you make it to 70 you for sure get medical, pension, and food benefits if those other two don’t cover expenses. That is unless you turn your nose up at coming to see state office. Usually in home health is available if needed, but long term care is only for hospice right now.
Our life expectancy in this state is in the 70s, it’s brutal. Where I want to go, one of the places it’s up in the high 80s to 90s. I know, what am I doing asking for more years? Well I want my lungs back, and the air quality here is such that I’m always gasping.
“So if you make it to 70”
–Yes, note the key word…IF. The issue is that 1/3 of all Americans do NOT make it to 70. Most die without getting jack shit- which is why they make all the benefits at 70.
To say the very least, yeah, I think life could be chaotic enough to the point in which it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect everyone to live until 70 in the first place. While I’m not aware of the statistics regarding when people die on average, it’s hard to say that there is one. At least “natural” circumstances make up some of it, but only a portion.
If the earth was to be hit by an asteroid or a meteor tomorrow, I would not weep for our species. We had our chance, and we failed miserably. If this means i’m part of the 22%, then i’ve never been happier to be so unhappy.
Oh you have NO idea how much I HAVE wished Earth would just be instantly obliterated by a damn huge asteroid. Wipe humanity off the face of the Earth for good.
Here I come to spoil the day!
Methodology is in the eye of the beholder. Ah my lost younger years wanting to be a specialist in measuring things, those things specifically being how people feel about the world around them.
This is a poll as well, we are in poll watching season. So the flaws of polls are very front of mind for us statisticians. Sample size is a huge issue for example, Gallup is known to only poll owners of land line telephones who are listed in the phone book, a group who tend to lean conservative and older. Whenever I look at their data, I think of that.
The college kid living in a dorm isn’t making that poll, but they might vote.
Okay, non political, they might be dis satisfied with their life. They probably are, I’ve never lived in a dorm but it looks awful.
Specifically though, how they measure satisfaction differs, and how they are asked matters a lot. Most people are immediate in their thoughts. If they are unhappy right at that moment, for example. They don’t introspect on the state of the world, to their detriment as we often lament, but their lack of introspection is going to come out in polls.
They are satisfied because they don’t go looking any deeper.
Earlier today my bosses boss was at the office, we’re having construction done. She was congratulating herself on it happening. We’d all been doing our best to ignore the construction all day, but she’s just happy stuff is happening that she can take credit for. You get it. She’s a normal person, and I can’t decide if she’s better off for it.
What is even “normal” anymore? If say the human species are, by and large, selfish psychopaths, is it good to be normal?
I may be flawed and depressed, but the rest of the human species seem pretty shitty to me.
Good, unbiased methodology has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Either researchers are paid to be biased (ie big phar.ma funded studies, corporate funded studies, etc)- or the researchers themselves have become stupider and don’t know what is REAL unbiased good methodology.
Trust me, I went to UC Berkeley studies- done by UC Berkeley undergrad and grad students. They’re supposed to be one of the brightest to get into that school- and they are- compared to most Americans- but the fact that even THEY design such flawed studies and experiments tell me all I need to know about the quality and state of published “studies” in the US.
This is why I don’t trust the data from 95% of “studies.” Either the results are just outright bought by corporate America, or the researchers themselves do such shitty work in designing an unbiased representative study.
UC Berkley wouldn’t even interview me, take that as you will. My opinion of them was higher then than now. I see them as part of the problem, as are the vast majority of behavioral science departments. Silicon Valley owns that school, and Stanford, neither has clean hands in AI. They have a vested interest in convincing us we are already happy.
I’m trying to think of a clean handed observer, could they even exist now? Southern Poverty Law center is pretty good. No one is perfect though. You need data in triplicate, replicated three times before it’s worth considering representative. Three non ideologically aligned observers would be enough for me.
but I’m not surprised when people appear happy. People appear all sorts of things. I watch birds, which appear many things as well. Without inside data, we are speculating. To quote the show and character House, people lie. Often they don’t even know they are doing it, because they do it to themselves.
We’re just the hecklers, saying “No you don’t, you really are miserable”. Ravens at a picnic, that’s us. Death is always at hand, when friends and family gather, because someone won’t be there next time around. Finite and simple creatures, most people. Pity them? I envy them as often as not.
Like I said, I watch birds, and I think I identify with the ravens and grackles most of all. They sit on the edge of human life, waiting for people to discard or demise. You can bet they are satisfied, they know their role in the grand scheme of things.