Joana Meurkens Didn’t Have an Easy Start Into theNew Year Her Landlord Raized the Rent of Her Brooklyn Apartment, Forcing the 26-Year-Old Actress and Singer From New York to Move Out and Temporary Live Between Boyfriend’s and Her Parents’Homes
“Rent and Groceries are actual high, eggs are $ 1 per egg Now, also the metro is a lot more pricey.
Rising Prices are Just One of the Reasons Why Young Americans Like Joana Are Increasingly Dissatisfied – Alongside Wars, Political Polarization, Loneliness and Unemployment.
According to this year World Happiness Report
Released Yearly on March 20 to Mark the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, The World Happiness Report is a Worldwide Survey That Ranks Countries According to the Level of Satisfaction of their populace.
This Year, the United States Fell toIts Lowest Ever Position Occupying the 24th Rank, The Country Droped Out of the Top 20Last Year Germany is currently placed 22nd and the UK, 23rd.
“But if you were Were to look just at Youth, the United States Wildn’t Even Make It To The Top 60,” Jan-Emmanuel de Neve, A Researcher from Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Center THAT DEALT WITH the Report, Tells DW.
Demonstrations AS A New Form of Community Gathering
Joana is not amazed by the outcomes. In the Past Two Years, She She Says, Life Has not just Gotten Significantly a lot more pricey, she and her peers are so having a hard time to locate tasks; Youth Unemployment gets on the Rise, and Political Upheavals Have Left Young People Disillusioned.
In New York, where Joana Lives, Young People Replaced Partying with Protesting,She Says “That’s what I feel like People My Age Do Now. There are so many demonstrations all the time, so there are always people People Gathering, which I think is positive because there is a Strong Sense of Community.”
Community is crucial for joy
De Nevas Observed That The Us Youth in Particular is Unhappier than that as a result of increate isolation. He worries that common lifestyles, search as sharing dishes and reside in homes with a minimum of 4 individuals, have a favorable effect on well-bbeig.
“Youth Today A As Likice toDine Alone Compared To Two Decades Ago Habits Seem to have Changed: When I Look at My Students, They Eat BY THESSELVES, With Their Phones in theirHands Neve Says.
The Decline of Social Connections, The Data Shows, i.e. Leads to Political Polarization and Changes inVoting Behavior “WE Found Out That People Who Are Unhappy Are More Likely to Vote for Anti-System Parties,” He Says.
Youth in Crisis Mode
Joana’s Youth was Marked by Political Upheavals:”I Was in My Senior Year When Trump Got Elected for the First Time,” She She Says “Then the Pandemic Hit, Everyone had to do online school, and on my 21st Birthday, We Couldn’t even go out to a bar; We were having parties on zoom.”
On a range of 1 to 10, with 10 standing for the greatest feasible degree of contentment, Joana Says she would certainly encourage her very own joy at 6 – constant with the American standard of 6.7. She She Says that Her Life Has Felt Like a Constant “Crisis Mode.”
To handle the dilemmas, lots of people in Joana’s generation Turn toMedication Accord to a Recent Study Examining 221 Million Prescriptions for Americans Agged 12 TO 25, Antidepressant Prescriptions Increase by Nearly 64% During the Pandemic, From March 2020 to December 2022.
“I feel like everyone is on antidepressants and anxiety medication Nowadays,” Joana Says
Finnish People the Happiest for 8th Time in A Row
Almost 7,000 kilometers away, The 33-Year-Old Finnish Corporate Receptionist Lisa * (Not Her Real Name) So shared Her Thoughts with Dw on the 2025 World Happiness Report Results: “Personally, I Am Always A Little Surprised When I Hear That Finland Ranks First in Happiness, Because It’s Dark in the Winter HERE, And Things Are Expensive,” She She Says.
Lisa Lives in Helsinki and Rates Her Life AT 7, Consistent with Her Country’s Average at 7.7.”Because of the Commuting, I Take Another Point Off. It Takes Me 45 Minutes to Work Every Day,” She She Says “In Helsinki, That’s Quite a Lot.”
In The Past Years, Russia’s got on Ukraine has actually been a main protection risk to finland. Even though this is an Additional Concern for the Younger Generation, The Topic is Rather Taboo in the Country, Says Lisa, Beat Discussing the Possibility ofWar Feels Too Scary The Young Woman Hopes Finland’s Institutions will certainly take care of to Maintain Peace.
Welfare Safety internet
The Average Household Size in Finland isBelow Two People Per Dwelling Reflecting This Statistic, Lisa Lives byHerself She General Eats Alone, Because After a Long Working Day, she does not Always have the power or time to share dishes with various other, she Explains.
Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean, The Average Household Size Ranges 3 and fifth subsequently, it’s the area Where People Share theMost Meals Yet, The Region Only has Two Representative in the Top 20 of the World Happiness Ranking: Costa Rica and Mexico.
Despite Being a rathe individualistic culture, Finland’s populace shares a Higher Level ofSatisfaction How is this constant with the well-leg scientists’ Data on the Importance of Social Connection?
“Happiness is not only sharing meals or Living Together, it’s a combination of factors,” de nev discusses. “If you look at scandinavian country versus the united states, they are sort of equally rich, but scandinavian redistribute their Weealth a lot more,” heAdds
According to the Report, Scandinavians So have a lot more social trust fund Than People in United States. “People Trust, For Example, that Lost Wallets wants to be returned,” deNeve Says And while scandinavians can trust their well-being state, Americans frequently live a life noted by stress and anxiety.
“Health Insurance in The Us Is Typical Aally Tied to Work. So if you loose your job, you loose your health insurance and that’s how people can get into difficult situation,” de nve discusses.
Happiness at the Center of Politics
But Happiness is not Just a Personal Concern, deNeve Says The information reveal that joy has straight results on national politics and the economic situation, with misery bring about political polarization, minimized efficiency and eventually, Being a hazard for freedom.
“The Solution Is To Put Happiness at the Heart of Policy-Making and to Learn from Countries That Are Doing Well, Like Denmark, Finland, Costa Rica, Slovenia, Lithuania or Mexico,” De Nev Says
“I think the Lessons are Pretty Clear,” He Adds. “The Well-Byria of Societies is based on sustainable growth that respects the planet as well as meaningful redistribution of wealth.”
Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier
