Why Are So Many People So Unhappy???? Answer May Surprise You

Why Are So Many People So Unhappy?
www.livescience.com...

We'd all like to be a little happier.

The problem is that much of what determines happiness is outside of our control. Some of us are genetically predisposed to see the world through rose-colored glasses, while others have a generally negative outlook. Bad things happen, to us and in the world. People can be unkind, and jobs can be tedious.But we do have some control over how we spend our leisure time. That's one reason why it's worth asking which leisure time activities are linked to happiness, and which aren't.

In a new analysis of 1 million U.S. teens, my co-authors and I looked at how teens were spending their free time and which activities correlated with happiness, and which didn't. We wanted to see if changes in the way teens spend their free time might partially explain a startling drop in teens' happiness after 2012 – and perhaps the decline in adults' happiness since 2000 as well.

A similar trend might be occurring for adults: My co-authors and I previously found that adults over age 30 were less happy than they were 15 years ago, and that adults were having sex less frequently. There may be many reasons for these trends, but adults are also spending more time with screens than they used to. That might mean less face-to-face time with other people, including with their sexual partners. The result: less sex and less happiness.

I think this is true...I have even noticed this about myself that if I spend more than two hours of non-productive time watching a computer or tv screen that my happiness actually drops and I feel more tired. That doesn't mean that watching a movie won't make me happy...sure it does. So unless technology is really used for work, how you spend your free time can really impact how happy you are.

I personally like to play sports, go see friends, go to the gym, learn a new food recipe or even read a book in my spare time. Heck I will even research something new online and post it on ATS! How about that

But I know one thing that doesn't make me happy...it's Fake News and extreme political BS....that I can't take. So I try and ignore it.

Cheers people

a reply to: Skywatcher2011


So do more the things that make You "happy" and less the things that don't.. Who woulda thunk?

Yes, even machines that aren't spitting out data/info suck the negative ions out of the immediate area and then folks get out of 'balance'. Now get around a bunch of machines and humans that suck the energy/life force out of their immediate area, and it would take a Lama not to get out of sorts.

Don't forget that the weather plays a part too. It is too cold to go fishing so that sucks, and if I don't go to the dog park then I have to explain to the 3 wearing fur, that We'll be 'shut ins' and that totally blows..

Stay Hydrated...

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

I could us more sex but f it. Mgtow ftw

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

It's pure conjecture.

What about the effects of electromagnetic exposure, or the types of pollutants we are exposed to?

What about the foods people are eating? How do pharmaceuticals play into this?

What about religion and spirituality? What about the content of media?

How are advertisers targeting us psychologically and what side effects does this type of mind manipulation have? Is it actually more profitable to subtly lead people into unhappiness in order to compel them into compulsive shopping?

Do you see how many variables are at play here?

Inferring "oh we have more screens, it must make us unhappy" is ridiculous.

I can't believe this crap passes as legitimate journalism, are people really this incapable of asking basic questions?

The article you linked isn't scientific and it isn't intelligent. Sigh....

a reply to: muzzleflash

Yes, correlation/causation and all that. Perhaps people have less energy because of the crap food they're eating, and thus, default to watching more TV instead of going for a jog.

This isn't surprising really as most everyone now days is tied into the net, most everyone is sharing their lives for all to see. Sadly you are going to have those who knowingly or not compare their lives to what they see. Not only that people are getting plastic surgery so they are more photogenic to present themselves on social media, the unhappiness is eating at their core in other ways. Of course not everyone can afford surgery, designer material items and lavish vacations. That's not to forget the youth being impacted, bullying, eating disorders, those feeling as such a young age they cannot live up to standards, etc.

Other studies done about social media say the more it's used the more unhappy people become. I guess it depends on how you use it. If you're exposed-willing or not in some cases, to and or seeking comparing your lives to others then you will find that. In a sense being the new Keeping up with the Jonses. Same goes for the other side of the spectrum probably non discussed by these studies, if you seek out doom because you're already feeling down or mad, doom you shall find.

a reply to: dogstar23

Yes, that and the stationary lifestyle, meaning higher cortisole levels, lack of Vitamin D, no exercise, etc.

a reply to: dreamingawake



It started to go downhill once the Joneses moved in w/all their cool gear...

Here's an example of the unsubstantiated gibberish in that article:

The problem is that much of what determines happiness is outside of our control.

Who says? Citations please?

I'm convinced happiness is an arbitrary choice I decide upon. Happiness is after all an abstraction "a state of mind".

Most religions and philosophers explain that happiness is a choice fully in our control - mind over matter.

The author of this article is claiming that it is in fact the opposite - matter over mind - and that our minds are slaves to physical circumstances.

I'd like to see valid sources explain how that's even possible. Every single major philosopher Ive ever read from any culture or belief system explained that it is mind over matter, not the other way.

Where does the author draw these highly questionable conclusions and why do they state it as fact assuming I already knew it?

Dare I say they just assumed and made that up because they don't actually know much (poor education)?

Some of us are genetically predisposed to see the world through rose-colored glasses, while others have a generally negative outlook. 

Citations please??

What genetic switch makes some people happy and others negative?

This is insanity, lol. Wtf.

Not only is claiming that "attitude = genetically determined" absurd, but the terminology itself isn't even defined properly.

Like what is a "negative outlook"? Is it cynicism or is it rudeness? Could it be either? What if I'm cynical because it's funny to be sarcastic and I'm having a great time?

What if I think the author of that article needs to be flipping burgers instead of writing garbage like this? Does that mean I was genetically disposed to be negative about it? Gimme a #n break.

originally posted by: dogstar23
a reply to: muzzleflash

Yes, correlation/causation and all that. Perhaps people have less energy because of the crap food they're eating, and thus, default to watching more TV instead of going for a jog.

What if the real change was "honesty"?

What if people in the past were just as unhappy on average as they are today, but we've taught people to be more honest about their feelings? So now we're finally seeing what was always there?

Or what if it's the so called "disappearance of the middle class"?

What about people in other cultures like China, Japan, Iran, or Somalia? What is their happiness rating right now?

Are screens having the same effects on people in Monaco as they are on people in Hong Kong? What are the ratings for very rich, mid wealth, and very poor?

What about religions? Are religious people more unhappy or less unhappy than non religious people?

Do people who watch "the news" have a higher chance for unhappiness than those who watch "comedy shows"?

What about history? Were people in the middle ages happier than people today? (I seriously doubt it, I bet we are way happier than ancient peoples on average).

Think about disease rates, starvation and famines, harsh enviornmental conditions with way less technology to combat it, wars and tyrannical despots, etc etc.

We people today live in luxury. We are pampered spoiled creatures of comfort. We are cry babies, immature and selfish.

People in the past by and large lived harsh painful existences. They suffered most of their lives.

Think about it...

a reply to: muzzleflash



Kinda remind You of the old...

A guy goes into the Dr. and says "It hurts when I do this..." The Dr. tells the patient: "Yeah, don't do that..."

rimshot/

Enlightenment.

I think a lot of people are unhappy because they haven't started their journey towards it yet. All the artificial superficial stuff is stopping them and they haven't learnt how to step away.

Step away from the bull5hit people... 👍

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Why Are So Many People So Unhappy???? Answer May Surprise You

I think it is because of clickbait.
I am unhappy because of clickbait.

Yea the screen is to blame, I'm not responsible. If it isn't the screen, then it's something else, certainly not my fault.

Stupid screen, why do you make me so unhappy and yet I still run back to you? I want to try and make it work, why can't you just act like you love me? I can be happy if you just tell me you love me even if you don't mean it.

I'm heart broken inside because i miss my Hummingbird very much.. Even if she was never really mine.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

That must be it, I mean like people don't care about their standard of living diminishing, that our leaders do not represent us, our food is full of poison, we have to work till we die to survive, the war on drugs and all the other wars on people like law enforcement and revenue collection. That's just the tip of the iceberg but yeah it's screens that are the problem even though they are one of the few things we actually have control over.....

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

We should go out more often, we should see our parents and relatives, fiends and walk with our dogs. We should go into sports. This is a basic recepy for the perfect and happy life

Well and shortly said FinallyAwake.

Human beings are not only physical, psychic and economic beings, but also spiritual. When people lack to develop or pay any attention to spiritual side of themselves, mind gets down and engaged with worldly pleasure seeking. Spiritual inspiration is bringing internal happiness, which nothing external can disturb. For example when we meditate we connect to the divine which is happiness, peace and love and thus we bring it into our daily life. What comes to net and mobiles, we just loose our interest to such things. When I attend to yoga retreats, there hardly is any computer and I don't see people with mobiles either.

One can grow spiritually also by other means, although it is not that easy.