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New data shows Americans more miserable than we've been in half a century
- gtsop 5y agoDoes anyone know why the sum doesn't add up to 100% in that chart?
- bleachedsleet 5y agoFrom the article: “The balance is made up by the pretty-happies at around 57 percent, who I omitted from the chart because their numbers didn’t change from 2018 to 2021.”
- HWR_14 5y agoThere is a third choice. "Pretty happy". It's then middle and left out because it's considered the "neutral" answer
- ngngngng 5y agoI wasn't able to read the whole article since I'm not subscribed, but the answer is in the text that was included to me. It's because "pretty happy" is the 3rd answer to the question and that number has stayed the same.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- _Microft 5y agoThe graph makes it rather look like as if the decline in happiness began half a decade ago. The pandemic certainly didn‘t help but I would guess it all started with the polarization during the Trump administration.
- isleyaardvark 5y agoThe graph pretty ridiculously changes the graph from the source to remove labeling of individual years. In the original source the graph is steady up to 2018. Even then it looks like the source lacks data for both 2019 and 2020. All in all this is pretty low quality post.
- colejohnson66 5y agoWe've been more polarized recently, sure, but it didn't start with Trump. Obama was a polarizing person as well - many right-wingers said they'd move to Canada if Obama was elected. Trump was just a continuation of the already existing polarization. Heck, his whole campaign in rural areas was based on, essentially, "your voice has been ignored, and I can give you one"
- drewcoo 5y agoYes, every American President has been polarizing. Even Ford. But the graphs show the change starting around the Trump epoch.
- gunfighthacksaw 5y agoWhy was Obama so polarizing? From the other side of the pond he looked like a garden variety politician from whom you could expect… well, the expected. I know that there is an accusation from the US left that all of the right’s obstruction and hostility was just barely concealed racism, but I assume that many in the GOP are not just frothing racists and do have some thought out issue with his actions. How was Obama more polarizing than, say, Bill Clinton? I remember W being polarizing because he came off as a mouth breather, but Obama just seemed so bland.
- ska 5y agoI think it's a mistake to assume that there are only "frothing racists" or "normal people" - the spectrum is a lot broader and has a broad impact (on politics, and elsewhere), as well as 2nd order effects.
- jfengel 5y agoRemember that they impeached Clinton, over sex, after an investigation into his financial affairs went nowhere. The goal was impeachment; the reason would come later. For Obama, they had his race, and that was sufficient. Not every Republican is a frothing racist, but they're certainly happy to appeal to the frothing racists. But at core, it was simply that he was a Democrat. Democrats are inherently polarizing because they are not Republicans, and the reasons come later.
- syki 5y agoThe real polarization occurred when Bush Sr. made a deal with Democrats to raise taxes and cut spending. That was the last time there was significant bipartisanship on domestic policy. When Clinton ran he went to the right because liberal Democrats had fared poorly in the previous 3 Presidential elections. As a result Republicans moved further right and pretty much since then Republican strategy has been to move to the right of whatever a Democratic President wants. For instance, Obamacare is essentially the same plan the Heritage Foundation concocted in 1994 in response to Clinton’s healthcare plan. Romney enacted that plan in Massachusetts. After 3 decades of “libtards” and other epitaphs (of both parties) hurled at any member of an opposing political party the country is irrevocably entrenched polarization. Only a true crisis or truly hard times will alleviate this mess we are in.
- pthread_t 5y ago> Only a true crisis or truly hard times will alleviate this mess we are in. At this point, this true crisis will probably be a civil war. We already have politicians calling for a national divorce. [0] [0] https://nypost.com/2021/12/29/rep-greene-suggests-a-national-divorce-between-red-and-blue-states/ https://nypost.com/2021/12/29/rep-greene-suggests-a-national...
- syki 5y agoI believe secession is what is needed. I no longer want to subsidize states with policies I vehemently oppose.
- jimmyjazz14 5y agoI feel like over last several years something started happening with our media that makes it appear more sensationalized (at least to me), add the multiplying factor of the internet and you have a recipe for unhappy people.
- pm90 5y agoFox News happened
- jimmyjazz14 5y agopersonally, I don't think it's an issue that is only isolated to the right wing side of media.
- pm90 5y agoA bit of nuance is important here to prevent false equivalency. Fox News was explicitly started with the intent of being the media arm of the GOP. They employ a bunch of “talk shows” which spread blatant lies and disinformation: all allowed because the org admits that these aren’t reporters, they’re just hosting a “show”. On a channel called Fox “News”. Do most viewers get that distinction? Who cares. While other channels are guilty of doing similar shit to certain extent, Fox News is several orders of magnitude different in how far they go with twisting facts and misinforming their viewers.
- zepto 5y agoOr they are just less sophisticated and more obvious.
- rufus_foreman 5y ago>> They employ a bunch of “talk shows” which spread blatant lies and disinformation: all allowed because the org admits that these aren’t reporters, they’re just hosting a “show” It's allowed because Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- BurningFrog 5y agoI think it's pretty clear that polarization comes mainly from modern social media. It's happening all over the world, and I think Trump like figures are a symptom, not a cause of it.
- vorpalhex 5y agoThis is too short of a post (at least what I can read) to be meaningful, and we can't read the sources or evidence.
- chillingeffect 5y agoYou're absolutely right! ... except for the first link in the article. If you briefly overlook that subtle, minute detail gently to one side for a hot minute though, your post is 100% correct. That first link lets you download the data which is probably useless for me to re-post as it seems to have all kinds of user-specific keys in it. e.g. mine was: (https://prod-norcgssde-trendfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/trends/happy.xlsx?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIAZE6A37ETBMSAQOQZ&Signature=i8tLsHrZ8OQS3ZGGPtpEMeiNN%2Fk%3D&x-amz-security-token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjELj%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIFQgx8fNi83K4zVfYMbcHTPWora%2BzEm0Uau5OS%2BE7D%2BPAiEA%2B6wx3V1FMcCd%2B19thfnqp4xS6YkHhGugavo6ifM%2BP1gqpgII4P%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAAGgw2MjkwODAzMjQzOTAiDMiJ5cn1i5SopfUsmir6AR1fRgyo%2Fh%2BTneIEM%2FAUHcogCMstwdSOO1UXHChtsicI3KXaf1JjGG83fDCh0C%2FJQ%2Bf%2FEGIzey9AF7zp6uKqCHVsyoJYtmQdghbh9aPRfFW9s40OdYjJJM7eXTVtmbkdWSreWlz82zlt2fn3Py441QzZp9MBuN%2BRpCNwI0%2FPWlN3gVIzLDYZzoTbDcnBxeAyIRMWGDGof7%2FXBEplzCOhMu%2BfK1L%2BnMTle5WIebCyxbESfHtPn2Y3rG0NWZkdhdUXYrjKs%2F%2BxXTRsFIulQwt8N%2F2EESqXIzAkAdkMby2o5it2U7LauswZEcxWNKqo3u%2FiwHdvhmEOWYN75A8wj%2FDRjwY6mgHrGwXwLgqbp%2BlFxywutxFxNafiqUlcQjJ5xfrGa5ga%2FL0dc7Dl0uIOuCcCAYN6WSaxgi%2F5ce4HR3aDJjZhYIF4qrkPr7NowwwV3Iw7wsY8Jh72JJOvEt6w%2BWCv9FSfi%2BXzYC38nmxfZe%2FDekFeBW4Qf28nj%2FKFvrsnJUpNOml3myvE5Bl%2Fz4Zip8hgs%2FF2qH2T7ufvIU8RU51e&Expires=1643411809 https://prod-norcgssde-trendfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/trends/ha...)
- vorpalhex 5y agoOh, that's great. Do you mind recreating the entire chart from scratch for me? Be great if you can provide the same analysis and arguments for the claim.
- tus666 5y agoWhat happened half a century ago?
- glial 5y agoWatergate and high inflation?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- AnimalMuppet 5y agoVietnam, plus economic stagnation, plus inflation. Plus a lot of social tension caused by Vietnam, changing mores, the economy no longer growing like it did post-WWII...
- vanusa 5y agoWhat AnimalMuppet said plus the slow-but-steady evisceration of the middle class through overseas outsourcing, the gig economy, predatory lending, and rising education + housing costs (start at various points in time since then). And the religious devotion that we are all expected to have to work, work, work (despite it buying us neither housing nor security nor peace of mind). Then throw in a failed imperial venture or two, with attendant suicide and drug addiction rates. Pandemic didn't help either.
- jwond 5y agohttps://wtfhappenedin1971.com https://wtfhappenedin1971.com
- jayceedenton 5y agoCould someone please explain why this graph is not as problematic as it first appears: https://wtfhappenedin1971home.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/eifme9yu0ae8xnz.jpg https://wtfhappenedin1971home.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/ei... ?
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- colpabar 5y agoAs an American, I know I'm miserable because I have realized that I'm going to have to choose between a giant douche and a turd sandwich in all elections for the rest of my life, with any alternatives being disqualified for being a "socialist" or a "conspiracy theorist".
- awinter-py 5y agoI learned that I'd better get used to having to choose between a douche and a turd sandwich because it's usually the choice I'll have
- goldenchrome 5y agoThink of presidents as figure heads. They represent an idea but they don’t have as much power as many think. There’s plenty of other influencing bodies of power in our society and most of them are hidden or at least not democratically elected. As a society we put a lot of emphasis on our politicians because it’s the one body of power that we feel we have any agency over. When you realize that our politicians are relatively insignificant, it’s easier to stop worrying about them. Most people’s influence only extends to their local community anyway, and that’s a good thing to realize. Focus your energy there—on your family, your friends, and your neighbors—and you’re much more likely to feel satisfied.
- colpabar 5y agoBut isn't that worse? You basically just said that the people we vote for aren't actually the people in charge. How is that supposed to make anyone feel better? And as for the whole "focus on your loved ones" notion, I reject it. I refuse to just give up and let the evil people who run the country do whatever they want with my tax dollars. I'm going to stay mad about it, because it's infuriating.
- goldenchrome 5y agoGo ahead, it’s your life. Perhaps ask yourself how useful your anger has been, versus how much stress it’s brought.
- somewhereoutth 5y agoReturning to Europe after a few years in the US, the first thing I noticed back here was that nobody was afraid.
- xnx 5y agoExactly. You're a lot more likely to practice the tightrope (and benefit from the experience) when there's a [social] safety net.
- vlahmot 5y agoAfraid of a specific thing or no fear in general?
- granshaw 5y agoAfraid of their future I’m assuming, with a much better welfare and safety net in Europe
- jokethrowaway 5y agoA self employed person I know (not by choice: finding an employment "il posto fisso" in Italy is a blessing) won't get a pension because he didn't put enough pension contribution during his career. Will he at least get back the money he put into the system? Also no.
- tormeh 5y agoHard to generalize over European countries, but you can think of most European governments as insurance companies with their own army. No matter how hard you fuck up, as long as you are able to fill out paperwork you'll have food, healthcare, and a (shitty) apartment. None of this is free for taxpayers, obviously, but it is what it is.
- somewhereoutth 5y agoNo fear in general. You can sense when people are fearful. No one - not one single person - is fearful in Europe (hyperbol of course, but not so far off). Again, it is the very visceral lack of fear that hit me when I returned. Hit me really hard (in a good way!). Visceral is exactly the word. It doesn't mean it is paradise, but it is a good start. I suppose in Europe the land and the people are one, in a way that doesn't really apply to our historical now completely out of hand 'camping trips'. I do really miss the US though, there are many good things - like your trucks with snouts!
- silisili 5y agoIt's housing. Fix housing, and people will be happier. Seriously, I lurk a lot of places, and everyone is up in arms about cost of living at the moment. Reading most Reddit threads that mention housing will have 5k+ comments, all saying the same thing. People are at their breaking point.
- ChrisLomont 5y agoThe data don't support the claim "it's housing." The change happened exactly and spectacularly at COVID; housing complaints significantly predate this.
- adam_arthur 5y agoWhile true that the first leg down was when covid hit, there's a noticeable second leg down in the summer of 2021. This also happens to be when inflation/price increases started to accelerate. It could also be due to govt aid programs expiring, leading to less disposable income.
- DeRock 5y agoHousing prices accelerated greatly since the start of COVID: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/csushpinsa https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/csushpinsa
- ChrisLomont 5y agoYes, there was a massive building material shortage and labor shortage, both driving costs up. The complaints about housing prices predates this by well over a decade.
- ggm 5y agoThis. I think Maslow is often over-stated, but fear of unstable housing and exposure to random costs is HUGE in personal wellbeing. The people who can fix it have voter skin in the game and a lot of fear around the outcome: A cohort of investors have been lied to about the perpetual money making machine of house ownership, at the cost of home ownership for ordinary (young) people.
- fleddr 5y agoA bit of a chart crime going on here. The source: https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/trends The original source shows more clearly how they only survey once every 3 years. So it's 2018 and 2021. The curvy line in the HN source suggests that 2019 and 2020 saw equal declines but this is an illusion as there's no data. Obviously the pandemic likely explains the difference between 2018 and 2021, but another interesting difference is that where they normally do in-person interviews, this time they used email. This might only strengthen the effect of "misery" as people tend to shy away from saying they're unhappy in person but gladly do so via email. Finally, some perspective is missing. Change the response in the link I shared to "Pretty happy" and it's a stable 55%, rising even. If you combine "very happy" and "pretty happy", you end up at some 75%. "For the first time in polling history, in other words, Americans are more likely to say they’re not happy than to say they’re very happy." Versus: "Consistent with the entire polling history, the vast majority (75%) of Americans are pretty happy to very happy, despite the pandemic causing a spike in unhappy people."
- steve76 5y ago[dead]