4 ms·

Gallup Study Shows Well-Being in Decline Across America

62 points by chmaynard 9y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 9y ago
If anyone else is wondering how subjective wellbeing, aka happiness, is measured... "how people feel in their day-to-day lives across key dimensions of well-being, including physical health and wellness; having supportive personal and family relationships; financial and economic security; having a sense of purpose; and connection to one’s community."
- smt88 9y ago
  Why do you think it's less interesting or important because it's subjective data?
  - mercer 9y ago
    Was the comment changed, or are you inferring something from the comment you replied to?
    - smt88 9y ago
      I might have misunderstood it. I thought they were saying, "If you're wondering how subjective this is..." (implying that it's not an informative measurement)
ebikelaw 9y ago
This data seems weird to me because it look like positive well-being is correlated with suicide. The states in their top quintile like Montana and Colorado are also top states for suicide. So either their survey method biases against people who are about to kill themselves, or well-being as they define it isn't enough to live for.
- tzury 9y ago
  if the unhappy kill themselves, the remaining are the happier ones who are answering the polls. (*joke)
- empath75 9y ago
  Or well being isn’t evenly distributed.
- ikeyany 9y ago
  Obviously well-being itself isn't what life is lived for. Relationships, meaning, community...some things seems inherently better than access to nature. These things seem obvious to most people I know, even if they aren't measurable or publishable.
- Trav5 9y ago
  I associate rural activities with increased wellbeing. Living in or visiting nature. I also associate guns with rural activities. I wonder how those states correlate with gun control. Suicidal thoughts are often strong but momentary. If there is a gun available, one can take action on the feelings before they pass makeing a momentary thought permanent. Heartbreaking. So my hypothesis is that the same restrictions on society and or culture that decrease the chance of suicide also reduce wellbeing.
  - rabboRubble 9y ago
    I associate urban living with more daily physical exercise. Rural residents, non-ranching and non-farming residents, drive everywhere and walk little. If they aren't doing a daily exercise like running or hiking, the carless urban dweller is getting more daily walking in. I know I certainly did when I lived in Tokyo. It was way more easy getting a gym trip under my belt in Tokyo. I recall reading a study correlating elevation with suicide. It might explain the suicide rates in MT/WY/CO. Found it! http://theconversation.com/the-curious-relationship-between-altitude-and-suicide-85716 http://theconversation.com/the-curious-relationship-between-...
- Ensorceled 9y ago
  Or maybe people who feel suicidal are more likely to commit suicide if surrounded by happy people? You are using one statistic to question a massive (2.5 million people), multiple year study by two well-respected firms. Perhaps it's complicated?
gt_ 9y ago
I hesitate to trust umbrella measurements of the health of our economy when I know I cannot trust so much else of I read. Corporate advertising and public relations will reasonably generate an environment of cynicism. Why do I trust this article’s claims? I don’t necessarily. But, it reflects what I observe and my understandings of how humans live with one another. America is a society optimized for individualism, but humans are social beings. This is basic stuff, but it’s undermined through propaganda and shame.
- stevenwoo 9y ago
  To your last point, America is also so large and diverse it's going to be hard to come up with too many sweeping conclusions from data like this. There's always going to be a few success stories about individualism but that doesn't help the median person who is just making ends meet, barely, and the homelessness issue that is worse in America than probably anywhere on earth especially given our cumulative wealth. The UN does have a happiness measure for what it's worth, it's probably better for smaller more homogenous countries. It interesting to compare what the UN study measures versus the American only one here. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happiest-country-world-un-report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happie...
  - TheCoelacanth 9y ago
    I don't think the homogeneous part is accurate. Four of the top eleven countries in the happiness ranking are Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Those are among the least homogeneous of any western countries. All have over 25% of their populations who are immigrants.
RickJWag 9y ago
Wow, my home state of South Dakota at the top of the rankings. Snow days must have something to do with it.
stevenwoo 9y ago
My first question off the bat is why didn't they at least explain why they didn't just try using the same type of data that the UN nation study did - the UN study shows the same marked decline in America over time. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happiest-country-world-un-report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happie...
- Ensorceled 9y ago
  "We did this study that's similar to another, less detailed study because we wanted to focus on our country and differences between states within our country and, because, that's what scientists do."
jdavis703 9y ago
It's interesting that at the same time well being is going down, obesity, diabetes and depression are increasing according to this study. I wonder how much negative well being is being driven by the obesity epidemic. We already know that obesity has a measurable impact on healthcare spending, does it not stand to reason that it could cause other society wide problems?
- notthemessiah 9y ago
  I would think it's the other way around. People are less well off, so they find comfort in cheaper and unhealthier foods.
  - jdavis703 9y ago
    This chart shows dental care going up a lot. A lot of dental work is more or less discretionary spending. I'd say this shows people care about how they look (also probably why exercise is increasing), but aren't willing to cut back on unhealthy foods. Further median income has been increasing in the U.S. If poverty causes obesity to increase, I'd expect that since the U.S. economy is rebounding that obesity would start decreasing.
    - thaumaturgy 9y ago
      The US real median income rate has only just now surpassed levels seen in 2007 and, before that, 1999; you can read that as, "median income is now higher than ever before", or you can read that as, "US working families lost two full decades worth of wage increases". Both statements would be true. Furthermore, while median income has increased, the bulk of economic gains are still not making their way into the average household. This is so broadly accepted as true that there's an entire Wikipedia article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_Unite... Opioid and other drug abuse probably correlates well with poverty (example https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessness-and-opioids/523281/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessne...), and that problem has become a national conversation recently.
la6470 9y ago
Studies like this are great but what else do you expect when you have a large section of population whining about everything that made America great.
kaendfinger 9y ago
There are some studies that show that suicide rates are the higher than normal in areas where manufacturing jobs have dried up. Surprised nobody even mentions that on HN, although on second thought, it's probably not that surprising.
cryoshon 9y ago
is it so surprising? the slightly less than average person is suffering to some degree (most likely minor), and that suffering is escalating to the point where average people feel it.

62 points by chmaynard 9y ago

If anyone else is wondering how subjective wellbeing, aka happiness, is measured... "how people feel in their day-to-day lives across key dimensions of well-being, including physical health and wellness; having supportive personal and family relationships; financial and economic security; having a sense of purpose; and connection to one’s community."

smt88 9y ago
Why do you think it's less interesting or important because it's subjective data?
- mercer 9y ago
  Was the comment changed, or are you inferring something from the comment you replied to?
  - smt88 9y ago
    I might have misunderstood it. I thought they were saying, "If you're wondering how subjective this is..." (implying that it's not an informative measurement)

ebikelaw 9y ago

This data seems weird to me because it look like positive well-being is correlated with suicide. The states in their top quintile like Montana and Colorado are also top states for suicide. So either their survey method biases against people who are about to kill themselves, or well-being as they define it isn't enough to live for.

tzury 9y ago
if the unhappy kill themselves, the remaining are the happier ones who are answering the polls. (*joke)
empath75 9y ago
Or well being isn’t evenly distributed.
ikeyany 9y ago
Obviously well-being itself isn't what life is lived for. Relationships, meaning, community...some things seems inherently better than access to nature. These things seem obvious to most people I know, even if they aren't measurable or publishable.
Trav5 9y ago
I associate rural activities with increased wellbeing. Living in or visiting nature. I also associate guns with rural activities. I wonder how those states correlate with gun control. Suicidal thoughts are often strong but momentary. If there is a gun available, one can take action on the feelings before they pass makeing a momentary thought permanent. Heartbreaking. So my hypothesis is that the same restrictions on society and or culture that decrease the chance of suicide also reduce wellbeing.
- rabboRubble 9y ago
  I associate urban living with more daily physical exercise. Rural residents, non-ranching and non-farming residents, drive everywhere and walk little. If they aren't doing a daily exercise like running or hiking, the carless urban dweller is getting more daily walking in. I know I certainly did when I lived in Tokyo. It was way more easy getting a gym trip under my belt in Tokyo. I recall reading a study correlating elevation with suicide. It might explain the suicide rates in MT/WY/CO. Found it! http://theconversation.com/the-curious-relationship-between-altitude-and-suicide-85716 http://theconversation.com/the-curious-relationship-between-...
Ensorceled 9y ago
Or maybe people who feel suicidal are more likely to commit suicide if surrounded by happy people? You are using one statistic to question a massive (2.5 million people), multiple year study by two well-respected firms. Perhaps it's complicated?

gt_ 9y ago

I hesitate to trust umbrella measurements of the health of our economy when I know I cannot trust so much else of I read. Corporate advertising and public relations will reasonably generate an environment of cynicism. Why do I trust this article’s claims? I don’t necessarily. But, it reflects what I observe and my understandings of how humans live with one another. America is a society optimized for individualism, but humans are social beings. This is basic stuff, but it’s undermined through propaganda and shame.

stevenwoo 9y ago
To your last point, America is also so large and diverse it's going to be hard to come up with too many sweeping conclusions from data like this. There's always going to be a few success stories about individualism but that doesn't help the median person who is just making ends meet, barely, and the homelessness issue that is worse in America than probably anywhere on earth especially given our cumulative wealth. The UN does have a happiness measure for what it's worth, it's probably better for smaller more homogenous countries. It interesting to compare what the UN study measures versus the American only one here. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happiest-country-world-un-report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happie...
- TheCoelacanth 9y ago
  I don't think the homogeneous part is accurate. Four of the top eleven countries in the happiness ranking are Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Those are among the least homogeneous of any western countries. All have over 25% of their populations who are immigrants.

RickJWag 9y ago

Wow, my home state of South Dakota at the top of the rankings. Snow days must have something to do with it.

stevenwoo 9y ago

My first question off the bat is why didn't they at least explain why they didn't just try using the same type of data that the UN nation study did - the UN study shows the same marked decline in America over time. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happiest-country-world-un-report https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/finland-happie...

Ensorceled 9y ago
"We did this study that's similar to another, less detailed study because we wanted to focus on our country and differences between states within our country and, because, that's what scientists do."

jdavis703 9y ago

It's interesting that at the same time well being is going down, obesity, diabetes and depression are increasing according to this study. I wonder how much negative well being is being driven by the obesity epidemic. We already know that obesity has a measurable impact on healthcare spending, does it not stand to reason that it could cause other society wide problems?

notthemessiah 9y ago
I would think it's the other way around. People are less well off, so they find comfort in cheaper and unhealthier foods.
- jdavis703 9y ago
  This chart shows dental care going up a lot. A lot of dental work is more or less discretionary spending. I'd say this shows people care about how they look (also probably why exercise is increasing), but aren't willing to cut back on unhealthy foods. Further median income has been increasing in the U.S. If poverty causes obesity to increase, I'd expect that since the U.S. economy is rebounding that obesity would start decreasing.
  - thaumaturgy 9y ago
    The US real median income rate has only just now surpassed levels seen in 2007 and, before that, 1999; you can read that as, "median income is now higher than ever before", or you can read that as, "US working families lost two full decades worth of wage increases". Both statements would be true. Furthermore, while median income has increased, the bulk of economic gains are still not making their way into the average household. This is so broadly accepted as true that there's an entire Wikipedia article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_Unite... Opioid and other drug abuse probably correlates well with poverty (example https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessness-and-opioids/523281/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/joblessne...), and that problem has become a national conversation recently.

la6470 9y ago

Studies like this are great but what else do you expect when you have a large section of population whining about everything that made America great.

kaendfinger 9y ago

There are some studies that show that suicide rates are the higher than normal in areas where manufacturing jobs have dried up. Surprised nobody even mentions that on HN, although on second thought, it's probably not that surprising.

cryoshon 9y ago

is it so surprising? the slightly less than average person is suffering to some degree (most likely minor), and that suffering is escalating to the point where average people feel it.