According to a global survey, Generation Z is experiencing “the equivalent of a midlife crisis” and is growing less joyful than previous generations. The World Happiness Report, released on Wednesday, indicated that the United States has dropped out of the top 20 happiest countries, ranking 23rd. It also noted that young individuals under the age of 30 currently rank 62nd out of 143 countries for happiness, while US adults aged 60 and over are ranked 10th. This number has raised concerns among healthcare specialists, with America’s top surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, blaming social media for it. “Allowing children to use social media is like giving them medicine that has not been proven safe,” Dr Murthy told The Guardian. He added that the failure of governments to regulate social media was “insane”.
Children are already experiencing the equivalent of a midlife crisis, demands immediate policy action
The doctor stated that adolescents in the United States spent roughly five hours daily on social media, with one-third staying up until midnight on weeknights on their smartphones. He urged for legislation “now” to decrease social media’s damage to young people, including limiting or eliminating features such as buttons and unlimited scrolling. The World Happiness Report is an annual barometer of well-being in 140 countries organized by Oxford University‘s Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For over a decade, research has demonstrated that younger people are happier than their elders. However, this changed in 2017.
According to Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and research editor, the survey revealed “disconcerting drops in youth happiness, especially in North America and Western Europe”. “To think that in some parts of the world children are already experiencing the equivalent of a midlife crisis, demands immediate policy action,” he added. British people under 30 were placed 32nd, after Moldova, Kosovo, and even El Salvador.
