Ominous drop in “Happiness” among Young Americans cannot stand

The 2024 Gallup Poll of “happiness” by country portends an ominous downward trend in the United States. Until recent years, the United States consistently ranked in the top 10 “happiest” countries in the world. In the last couple of years, that ranking dipped below 10 but not by much. Last year, for example, Gallup ranked the U.S. at number 15.

Astonishingly, this year that number came all the way down to 23. Even more concerning was the burgeoning and ahistoric “age” gap shown in the survey. According to Gallup, Americans 60-and-over still rank in the top 10 in the world, while those under 30 ranked all the way down at a dismal 62. Based on these trends, we can expect the numbers to continue to plummet unless we discover the reason for such youth unhappiness and find a way to turn it around.