Reference News, September 19 report - According to the Spanish newspaper "El País" website on August 27, the "unhappiness curve" is disappearing, but this is not a good news. For a long time, life satisfaction has shown a "smile curve": it is high in youth, falls into a low point in middle age, and then gradually rises again. This low period is called the "40-year crisis." On the contrary, unhappiness follows a "hump curve" or an inverted smile curve. However, a large-scale study recently published in the American journal "PLOS ONE" shows that the "unhappiness curve" is gradually weakening and almost disappearing. This is not because the "40-year crisis" has been alleviated, but rather a new phenomenon called the "20-year crisis" has emerged. Now, the level of unhappiness is high in early life and gradually decreases with age.

Global Universality

The study was based on a large amount of data, including feedback from over 10 million adults in the United States between 1993 and 2024, longitudinal analysis of 40,000 families in the UK, and survey results from 2 million questionnaires in the "Global Mind" project covering 44 countries. Despite the vast amount of data and the large number of countries covered, the conclusions were clear and consistent. David Blanchflower, an economist at University College London and the main author of the study, admitted that the high degree of global consistency in the study results surprised him.

Researchers did not ask for specific reasons, but they said that the pandemic, the housing crisis, and especially the popularity of smartphones could be key factors. This also explains why data showed consistency across regions with different backgrounds. Blanchflower explained that the study found that people in developing countries who could not go online had not experienced such poor mental health.

He believes the problem is not the phone itself, but the way it invades free time, constantly taking up time until it completely consumes it. The phone replaces beneficial activities. Children no longer play, no longer communicate... spending too much time online causes people to distance themselves from meaningful activities.

The importance of this study lies both in its massive data base and in placing the anxiety of a new generation within a broader context, compared to the subjective satisfaction of the previous generation. The study's findings are striking, yet not unexpected. Numerous scientific studies have shown that an imbalance began to emerge from 2010 onwards. The rate of depression and anxiety among teenagers has increased by 50%, and suicide rates have risen by 32%. The Gen Z population born in 1996 and later has the highest levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems in history.

"Smile Curve" Under Question

The "20-year crisis" has broken the original unhappiness curve, but it should be noted that this is only the current situation. The Gen Z population, who suffer more from mental health issues than their parents, will eventually reach their 40s and 50s. There is currently no sign that they will not face similar life challenges as previous generations. At the same time, new generations will continue to join this curve, and there is nothing to guarantee that their dependence on mobile phones will decrease. In other words, the disappearance of the "unhappiness curve" is temporary. It is expected to reappear in a few years, and the situation may be even more extreme.

Blanchflower said: "I don't know how things will develop. The mental health of the group born after 2000 seems to have always been poor. I hope we can stop this trend." But he also said that it is not easy. The proportion of young people hospitalized for depression continues to rise, and suicide rates and antidepressant use are also increasing. According to a medical report published in the United States in 2022, between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of children under 17 who visited the emergency room for mental health issues increased from 784.1 per 100,000 to 869.3 per 100,000.

Professor Maitane Garai Goñi, a professor of psychological assessment and diagnosis at the University of the Basque Country, gave a positive evaluation of the significance of the study, believing that its advantage lies in the massive data base. In an interview with the British Science Media Centre website, she said: "This study is significant because it questions an experience that was widely accepted - that there is a 'smile-shaped happiness curve' and a 'hump-shaped unhappiness curve' throughout life." Garai Goñi believes that the study results "break one of the most frequently mentioned rules in the field of social sciences."

In the same interview on the website, Professor Edward Beteta, a psychiatrist at the University of Barcelona, acknowledged the quality of the study data and agreed with the conclusions, but added another possible reason - the gap between expectations and reality. In most of the countries covered by the study, the younger generation received too protective education, leading to a lower tolerance for frustration. He believes this factor is equally important in explaining their emotional anxiety.

The study finally pointed out that this global trend requires urgent attention from governments, researchers, and society to reverse the decline in young people's happiness. When asked about specific recommendations or measures, Blanchflower suggested considering limiting smartphone use, but more importantly, providing alternatives - making social life "migrate in reverse", from screens back to real streets, encouraging games, social gatherings, and outdoor activities. He said: "Let children live like children." (Translated by Zhang Weiyu)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551704564724580898/

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