The World Happiness Report Is Nothing To Smile About For The United States

We all have had the experience of having to fill out surveys assessing our reactions to various products and experiences. Very often, when I get into my car after shopping at a local store, I get an email or text message asking me to rate my shopping experience.

This is not only limited to the business world. Surveys have long been an essential part of academic research. It has proven to be a very effective way to collect data, which can shed information on various topics.

One such survey, the World Happiness Report, which began in 2012, is administered annually to a random sample of the population of different nations. The annual survey is a partnership between the United Nations, the Gallup organization, and other entities.

The report aims to review the state of happiness worldwide and obtain information on how public policy can improve happiness. People rate their happiness levels and assess their reactions to events around them.

And The Winner (And Loser) Is…

For the seventh year in a row, Finland has earned the distinction of being rated the happiest place to live. This is an incredible accomplishment. The following are some of the reasons for this.

* Finland invests 20% of its gross domestic product in social protection programs, such as pensions, health care costs, unemployment insurance, and other social services.

·  Finland has a gender-equal society. Nearly half of the country’s governing body is comprised of women. Finland was one of the world’s first countries to give women the right to vote in 1906.

·  Finland is extremely family-friendly as it has one of the most generous parental leave allowances in the world—40 working days of allowance for mothers during pregnancy, as well as 160 days of parental leave for those who are guardians to a child, regardless of whether adults are biological or adoptive parents.

·  Finland invests a large amount of money in per-pupil expenditures. Additionally, schooling in the country is free from preschool through college.

All of this is in a country where winter lasts up to 200 days, including weeks when the sun does not rise.

          For the sixth year in a row, the saddest country in the world is Afghanistan. The reasons why include:

* Afghanistan has high levels of poverty

* High Levels of unemployment

* Government instability

Meanwhile, Happiness  In The United States Is Taking A Hit.

For the first time the United States fell out of being ranked in the top 20 countries in the world from 15 to 23 in the past year. Some reasons for the decline are increased feelings of loneliness, how the economy impacts segments of the population, the divisive political climate, and the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the biggest reason for the drop in happiness levels in the United States has been a discrepancy between how people above age 30 rate themselves compared to people below that age. The U.S. was tenth in the world in happiness among those 60 and older, but for those under 30, we are ranked 62.

          This contrasts with most of the world, where young people are happier than the old. Instead of experiencing laughter, enjoyment, and fun daily, youth in the U.S. feel more frequently worried, sad, and angry (this is also happening in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand)

          Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the University of Oxford, who contributed to the report, stated

“In North America, and the U.S. in particular, youth now start lower than the adults in terms of well-being…and that’s very disconcerting because essentially it means that they’re at the level of their midlife crisis today and obviously begs the question of what’s next for them?”

The discrepancy between generations in assessing their level of happiness is striking. The World Happiness Report is not the only source highlighting this; if we have been paying attention, there have been plenty of indicators of the psychological well-being of young people under siege.

Some disturbing statistics are:

·       Teens are more than twice as likely as adults (19.5% to 8.8%) to report an episode of major depression in the last year. Fourteen years ago, both groups were nearly equal.

·       The percentage of high school girls who seriously considered suicide jumped from 19% in 2011 to 30% in 2021. for children aged 10 to 14, the actual suicide rate tripled between 2007 and 2021.

·       Also, the level of depression and anxiety in teenagers has spiked more than 50% between 2010 and 2020.

·       The CDC reports that 20% of young people between the ages of three and 17 have a diagnosed mental health condition.

·       In the last four years, the number of prescriptions written for children and teenagers for anti-anxiety medication, anti-depressants, and ADHD medication has gone up 64%.

The numbers do not lie.

Two Factors To Consider

All of the information is a wake-up call if we are going to do something to salvage the mental health of our youth. Two variables that have played a role in it are growing up during the phase of an acute pandemic. The opportunities for socialization, the failure to grow academically and, as a result, falling behind, and the overall level of anxiety living during that time Took a massive toll on all of us, including kids.

The other factor focused on in greater detail is social media. The American Psychological Association reports that 41% of teens with the highest social media use rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor compared with 23% of those with the lowest use.

Additionally, 10% of the highest-user group expressed suicidal intent or self-harm in the past year compared to 5% of the lowest-use group. Further, 17% of the highest users express poor body image compared with 6% of the lowest users.

The average number of hours U.S. teens spend using social media apps is 4.8%. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram account for 87% of their social media time.

Sixty percent of the highest frequency social media users who report low parental monitoring and weak parental relationships rate their mental health as being poor or very poor, compared with 25% of the highest frequency users who report high parental monitoring and parental relationships.

In addition, 22% of the highest users with poor parental relationship monitoring Express suicidal or self-harm thoughts compared with 2% of high users with strong parental relationships and monitoring.

Statistics show that 81% of kids and teens think that it is easier to get away with bullying online than in person, while 43% of kids have been bullied online.

Signs Of Unhealthy Social Media Use

The American Psychological Association lists warning signs of inappropriate use of social media in young people.

•        School and social functioning and extracurricular relationships are interfered with.

•        Choosing social media over real-world interactions.

•        Social media prevents getting at least 8 hours of sleep.

•        Neglecting involvement in physical activity.

•        They cannot, despite saying they want to reduce or stop using social media.

•        Exhibiting strong cravings to use social media.

•        Lying or using deceptive behavior to go online.

Consider your child’s behavior to see if it coincides with these indicators. If so, consider implementing new limits for their use of social media. If you are unable to do this or feel that your child’s behavior is escalating, it may be time to consider contacting a mental health professional.

Setting Limits

It is clear from the data that one of the ways to protect young people from this trend is for parents to monitor their offspring’s use of social media significantly. Parents do not have to be afraid to take control of their kid’s social media usage, as children and teens need structure and boundaries.

A big reason is that when young brains are engrossed in emotionally stimulating online material, their capacity for judgment and accurate information processing is compromised. The more primitive parts of their brain that lead to impulsivity and poor decision-making are activated. This is why young people take hazardous TikTok challenges.

For this reason, parents need to limit their child’s exposure to social media sites that use likes and dislikes. This feature can promote excessive scrolling and impact a child or teen’s self-esteem. I have met many teens who are genuinely upset by a low number of likes to a post or receiving several dislikes.

Children’s devices often come with parental control features that limit site exposure. These must be used, especially when children go to bed late and get inadequate sleep (at least 8 – 10 hours).

Limit the use of social media to when your teen or child is home with you so you can keep an eye on it. Unsupervised social media use places kids at greater risk. Also, show your child that much social media information may be inaccurate.

Serve as a healthy role model for your child’s social media use. Young people watch how you behave. Limiting your child’s use while being lax in how you use social media will send a mixed message to your child. Avoid using social media at the dinner table or during family time. Set limits for yourselves so children can emulate them.

Talking to your offspring about using social media is not a one-and-done conversation. Have ongoing talks with them about their usage. Explore in a nonjudgemental way what they are watching, their understanding of it, and how they might respond to hypothetical high-risk situations that may arise while they are online.

A Final Word

Social media has constructive uses. It can be used to form relationships, reconnect with old friends, learn valuable information, and support those in the community. Kids want to connect with others, which is a good thing.

However, as psychologist Angela Patterson notes,

“To make social media a place for positive outcomes, what matters most is what’s happening outside it. Social and digital spaces can’t be the only place where life, and the connection that comes with it, is happening. To ensure this technology serves as a conduit for well-being, one of the most impactful things we can do as adults is to ensure young people use it as one of many avenues for connection rather than seeking it out as the primary way to manufacture it.

Whether sheets of folded notebook paper or a series of direct message (D.M.) threads, young people will use what’s available to them to create meaningful connections. As adults, we must help set the conditions so social media remains a tool and doesn’t become a crutch.”