Report finds falling happiness among youth of North America and western Europe, but rise in sub-Saharan Africa and eastern Europe

Young people are becoming less happy than older generations as they suffer “the equivalent of a midlife crisis”, global research has revealed as America’s top doctor warned that “young people are really struggling”.

Dr Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, said allowing children to use social media was like giving them medicine that is not proven to be safe. He said the failure of governments to better regulate social media in recent years was “insane”.

Murthy spoke to the Guardian as new data revealed that young people across North America were now less happy than their elders, with the same “historic” shift expected to follow in western Europe.

Declining wellbeing among under-30s has driven the US out of the top 20 list of happiest nations, the 2024 World Happiness Report revealed.

  • @big_slap
    11•9 months ago

    People see the harms of social media but forget how connected it can help make people.

    the best thing the internet did was connect all the “smart” people to each other. the worst thing the internet did was connect all the “dumb” people to each other.

    • @5oap10116
      3•9 months ago

      All the idiots of the world have found each other and unionized

        • @5oap10116
          2•9 months ago

          Definitely not equating what these people are doing to real unions, but they do form semi organized groups with leaders and push for whatever agenda (dumb as it may be) they have which is essentially unionizing by definition.