Young Adults and Their Mysterious Happiness Crisis: A Shocking Trend
Young adults are facing a mysterious happiness crisis. This latest shocking trend is changing what everybody knows about happiness in general.
A lot of young people in English-speaking countries of the world, including India, are facing a mysterious happiness crisis. The emergence of technologies and advancements that increase connectivity are not helping the happiness rate already declining. Parents and even grandparents, on the other hand, have noticed improvement in their well-being and standard of living. These findings reveal a lot about the changes happening with happiness and age of youth of a nation.
The Declining U-Curve of Happiness
Psychologists around the world have believed in the U-curve of happiness for years now. People start off happy in their years of youth and experience a dip in the mid-years of life. They bounce back to the years of happiness in the later years of life. But psychologists have noticed a decline in this U-curve of happiness. Happiness now increases with age, with young adults experiencing the lowest level of happiness.
Mental Health Connection
The decline in the U-curve of happiness amongst young adults is not in isolation. Young adults have reported an increase in mental health concerns. The rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm are now touching the roof. Young adults have now started to self-harm themselves. Mental disorders are on the rise in the case of men and women. The rate of mental disorders is considerably higher in just a decade’s time. Young women experience more mental illness concerns, raising urgent questions about this mysterious happiness crisis.
Reasons Behind Happiness Crisis
- Social Media: Smartphones and social media are deeply embedded in the lives of young adults. The increase in screen time fuels unrealistic comparisons and heightens anxiety.
- Economic Instability: The job market where young adults work is quite uncertain. The financial insecurity and decreased well-being is one more reason behind this shocking trend.
- Global Disruptions: The Covid-19 pandemic impacted young people’s financial well-being and social stability. Today, young people are stuck in the navigation of an unrealistic world.
How to Reverse Happiness Crisis
- Promote Healthy Technology Use: Encourage habits like mindful social media consumption and more face-to-face interaction to reverse happiness crises.
- Expand Mental Health Support: Extend youth-centered mental health support to young adults, usually inaccessible to better address this mysterious happiness crisis.
- Address Economic Equality: Reduction of financial burdens on young people like affordable education can improve the purpose and well-being.
- Encourage Connections: Give young adults the chance to interact with people through community-building events as well as conferences. This can allow young adults to restore their sense of belonging and purpose in life.
The Takeaway
The traditional U-curve of happiness has shockingly flattened. Young adults now struggle in ways the previous generations never had to. And this mysterious happiness crisis does not look like it is just a passing face. This significant shift in the U-curve of happiness reveals how different age groups experience happiness, especially young adults out there.
