Those were better days

Study reveals people in their 30s were lot happier in 1970s than they are today

NEW YORK: You may have snazzier gadgets and more modern comforts at your disposal today than what your parents had, and yet they did not miss one thing as much as most of us do today —  happiness. A new research has found that today, adults over 30 are not as happy as those of over 30 in the 1970s, but teenagers and young adults are happier than ever.

“Our current culture of pervasive technology, attention-seeking, and fleeting relationships is exciting and stimulating for teens and young adults, but may not provide the stability and sense of community that mature adults require,” said Jean Twenge, professor at San Diego State University in the US.



Researchers analysed data from four nationally representative samples of 1.3 million Americans aged 13 to 96 taken from 1972 to 2014.Data showed that 38% of adults older than 30 said they were “very happy” in the early 1970s, which shrunk to 32% in the 2010s. 28%of adults ages 18 to 29 said they were “very happy” in the early 1970s, versus 30% in the 2010s.

Over the same time, teens’ happiness increased: 19% of 12th graders said they were “very happy” in the late 1970s, versus 23% in 2010. The findings suggest that after 2010, the age advantage for happiness found in prior research vanished.

There is no longer a positive correlation between age and happiness among adults, and adults older than 30 are no longer significantly happier than those ages 18 to 29.The researchers also found that drop in happiness occurred for both men and women.

The study was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2015.

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