4 ms·

"it's stated that only 2% of Americans say they are satisfied with life, compared to 17% of Germans" This isn't actually what the original study says, it was q

"it's stated that only 2% of Americans say they are satisfied with life, compared to 17% of Germans" This isn't actually what the original study says, it was quoted in a confusing way by this article. 2% is the number of Americans who "refrain from offering detailed responses, responding instead that they are satisfied with life, that they feel fulfilled, or something else broadly general but still positive." [0] So 17% of Germans find life fulfilling but don't particularly feel inclined to share their reasoning. The percentage of Americans who find meaning from some source is clearly much higher, although I'm having a hard time finding that number. [0] https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/general-rather-than-specific-satisfaction/ https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/11/18/general-rather...

armchairhacker 5y ago
Current statistics seem to suggest that around 82% of people in the US are satisfied with their lives [0]. I wouldn't be surprised if these numbers are inflated, but it's way more than 2%. Actually US mean satisfaction is higher than most places in Europe [2]. I don't doubt that social isolation and culture are a problem, but it's nothing compared to extreme poverty and not being safe. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/happiness-cantril-ladder https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/happiness-cantril-ladder [2] https://thehill.com/homenews/news/537118-americans-personal-satisfaction-drops-from-2020-record-gallup https://thehill.com/homenews/news/537118-americans-personal-...
Imnimo 5y ago
And yet look at how many comments in this thread are breathlessly accepting the idea that only 2% of Americans are satisfied with life, and drawing a variety of philosophical and political conclusions from that absurd statistic.
- ffggvv 5y ago
  sounds like 90% of the political takes i see on twitter and cable news
- jkhdigital 5y ago
  Imagine how many man-hours were expended in composing those comments
- perl4ever 5y ago
  Misery Loves Co...is a Swedish thrash/industrial metal band: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Loves_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Loves_Co.

armchairhacker 5y ago

Current statistics seem to suggest that around 82% of people in the US are satisfied with their lives [0]. I wouldn't be surprised if these numbers are inflated, but it's way more than 2%. Actually US mean satisfaction is higher than most places in Europe [2]. I don't doubt that social isolation and culture are a problem, but it's nothing compared to extreme poverty and not being safe. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/happiness-cantril-ladder https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/happiness-cantril-ladder [2] https://thehill.com/homenews/news/537118-americans-personal-satisfaction-drops-from-2020-record-gallup https://thehill.com/homenews/news/537118-americans-personal-...

Imnimo 5y ago

And yet look at how many comments in this thread are breathlessly accepting the idea that only 2% of Americans are satisfied with life, and drawing a variety of philosophical and political conclusions from that absurd statistic.

ffggvv 5y ago
sounds like 90% of the political takes i see on twitter and cable news
jkhdigital 5y ago
Imagine how many man-hours were expended in composing those comments
perl4ever 5y ago
Misery Loves Co...is a Swedish thrash/industrial metal band: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Loves_Co https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Loves_Co.