7 ms·

Do you think people are happier now than they were in the 80s/90s/00s? I don’t think so, at least not in the us. Granted I was younger during those times .

by pylua 6mo ago

zozbot234 6mo ago
Yes, dramatically so. The 1980s and 1990s sucked, we live in the future.
- kjkjadksj 6mo ago
  Look at home prices and then tell me it sucked.
  - zozbot234 6mo ago
    What home prices? There are many places (second-rate cities or rural) where home prices are just fine. Not everyone has to live in SF.
    - cheesecompiler 6mo ago
      Housing prices are not binary: they have skyrocket in every major city and city-adjacent suburb. The middle class has consistently declined since the 70s.
    - kg 6mo ago
      We periodically see posts on HN about the 'loneliness epidemic' and simultaneously the solution for home prices is to live in a rural area where you have maybe two neighbors and it's a 30-minute drive to see your friends or colleagues. As someone who grew up in a rural area I don't miss it and I think people who call it a good standard of living have interesting criteria. That cheaper rural home also comes with secondary costs, like a longer commute.
- deaux 6mo ago
  I was very much there during the 1990s, people were median happier than in 2026. Unless you mean globally, in which case it's near impossible to tell. But GP likely meant the US or Europe.
  - anal_reactor 6mo ago
    > But GP likely meant the US or Europe. Reminds me of movies "Aliens attack Earth. By Earth by obviously mean USA. By USA we obviously mean New York City. By New York City we obviously mean Manhattan.". Half of Europe was literally undergoing complete economic collapse in 90's.
    - deaux 6mo ago
      Your supposed connection of country-level economic situation and happiness reminds me of this great comment: "I can't stand the conflation of "satisfied" and "happy." It's insane. There is more happiness in one Zimbabwean (country "happiness" rank: 143) than in one hundred Icelanders (country "happiness" rank: 2, worldwide antidepressant consumption rank: 1.) Go stand in a crowd of people and count the fucking smiles and the fucking laughter. "It is all part of this broader wave of newspeak. If you can quite literally redefine happiness, you can redefine anything. Nothing has meaning anymore. You will live alone, you will consume antidepressants, you will be protected from the sunlight, you will not smile, you will not laugh, and you will be happy." [0] [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46295573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46295573
      - anal_reactor 6mo ago
        Hmmmm maybe economic success removes discomforts which removes unhappiness but this means that moments of happiness don't feel as good compared to the baseline. Like, people in rich countries are more stably content, while people in poor countries have more emotional variance over time.
    - tasuki 6mo ago
      Which half?

Do you think people are happier now than they were in the 80s/90s/00s? I don’t think so, at least not in the us. Granted I was younger during those times .

by pylua 6mo ago

Do you think people are happier now than they were in the 80s/90s/00s? I don’t think so, at least not in the us. Granted I was younger during those times .

zozbot234 6mo ago

Yes, dramatically so. The 1980s and 1990s sucked, we live in the future.

kjkjadksj 6mo ago
Look at home prices and then tell me it sucked.
- zozbot234 6mo ago
  What home prices? There are many places (second-rate cities or rural) where home prices are just fine. Not everyone has to live in SF.
  - cheesecompiler 6mo ago
    Housing prices are not binary: they have skyrocket in every major city and city-adjacent suburb. The middle class has consistently declined since the 70s.
  - kg 6mo ago
    We periodically see posts on HN about the 'loneliness epidemic' and simultaneously the solution for home prices is to live in a rural area where you have maybe two neighbors and it's a 30-minute drive to see your friends or colleagues. As someone who grew up in a rural area I don't miss it and I think people who call it a good standard of living have interesting criteria. That cheaper rural home also comes with secondary costs, like a longer commute.
deaux 6mo ago
I was very much there during the 1990s, people were median happier than in 2026. Unless you mean globally, in which case it's near impossible to tell. But GP likely meant the US or Europe.
- anal_reactor 6mo ago
  > But GP likely meant the US or Europe. Reminds me of movies "Aliens attack Earth. By Earth by obviously mean USA. By USA we obviously mean New York City. By New York City we obviously mean Manhattan.". Half of Europe was literally undergoing complete economic collapse in 90's.
  - deaux 6mo ago
    Your supposed connection of country-level economic situation and happiness reminds me of this great comment: "I can't stand the conflation of "satisfied" and "happy." It's insane. There is more happiness in one Zimbabwean (country "happiness" rank: 143) than in one hundred Icelanders (country "happiness" rank: 2, worldwide antidepressant consumption rank: 1.) Go stand in a crowd of people and count the fucking smiles and the fucking laughter. "It is all part of this broader wave of newspeak. If you can quite literally redefine happiness, you can redefine anything. Nothing has meaning anymore. You will live alone, you will consume antidepressants, you will be protected from the sunlight, you will not smile, you will not laugh, and you will be happy." [0] [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46295573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46295573
    - anal_reactor 6mo ago
      Hmmmm maybe economic success removes discomforts which removes unhappiness but this means that moments of happiness don't feel as good compared to the baseline. Like, people in rich countries are more stably content, while people in poor countries have more emotional variance over time.
  - tasuki 6mo ago
    Which half?