Since 2020, the long‑standing U‑curve in age and happiness has turned into a linear relationship in many countries: the young (18–34) are now the least happy, and those 55+ the happiest. This coincides with rising youth anxiety, loneliness, and suicides, and is plausibly tied to labor‑market uncertainty, polarization, climate fears, weakened civil society, and social media.
— If the age–happiness baseline has flipped, policy and media should treat youth wellbeing as a structural crisis and track age‑specific wellbeing rather than relying on pre‑2020 assumptions.
Carol Graham
2025.09.05
100% relevant
The article states that 'since 2020, the relationship has become a linear upward trend... the least‑happy group is now the young and the happiest are those over 55.'
David Pinsof
2025.02.25
35% relevant
The article predicts happiness should wane with age as prediction errors shrink; this intersects with recent evidence that age–happiness patterns are shifting, challenging standard models and suggesting happiness metrics are dynamic rather than fixed.
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