Young adulthood is no longer one of life's happiest times

Post by andix » Sat, Jul 20, 2024, 10:52 PM UTC

iwanttocomment wrote: post #2

Hey, Gen Z. Gen X here. I personally think this whole "young adulthood is the happiest time of your life" is some sort of bizarre Boomer artifact, and certainly wasn't in play in the late '80s or '90s. I was told that repeatedly when I was a teenager, but it certainly wasn't the case for me or most of the people I knew when I was a young man, 35 years ago. We were all totally blindsided by how bad the high school exp…

Post by quantified » Sat, Jul 20, 2024, 10:55 PM UTC

andix wrote: post #59

big-green-man wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my mind, and this isn't science, just observation, the two main problems are loneliness and not being able to afford what was in decades past a "normal life." I think the internet and smartphone have a large role in the lonelinesses part. All in all, a teenager has this idea that when they're an adult they'll start living life, and then they get there and they can't start a family and have a home of their own beca…

I don't think that poverty and money has such a big effect on happiness, as long as the basic needs are covered (food and a dry/clean bed to sleep). There was a lot of happiness in Eastern European countries during the communist time. They were lacking so many things and they saw many human rights violations, but it didn't break the majority of people. Many people still have a lot of good memories about that time, al…

Post by skdotdan » Sat, Jul 20, 2024, 11:21 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #56

skdotdan wrote: post #45

As an anecdotal data point, I’m happier than in my early and mid 20s, and I have hope for my 30s.

Would you be willing to share what is causing your unhappiness, and what has caused the changes you mention and optimism for the future?

Post by toomuchtodo » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 12:51 AM UTC

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #66

toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cheaper not to have them and risk the outsized long term financial obligation. ~43% of first marriages fail, ~60% of second marriages, ~73% third marriages. Roughly half of all children will see the parents’ marriage fail or them separate (per the CDC).

You can also make sure, before you get married and/or have kids, that neither one of you is an unreasonable jerk. Then you can work out custodial arrangements and financial obligations like reasonable people, as most divorced people I know seem to do.

Post by Twisell » Sun, Jul 21, 2024, 6:24 AM UTC

andix wrote: post #55

Twisell wrote: post #35

From the article conclusion : > “What you need here is something that starts around 2014 or so, is global and disproportionately impacts the young—especially young women,” he says. “Anybody that comes up with an explanation has got to have something that fits that. Other than cell phones, I don’t have anything. I don't now maybe seing consequences of global climate change with your bare eyes and noticing most of boom…

I don't think so. It's probably a real threat to human survival, but most people lack the perspective to recognize that. Humans are great at denial. I guess not even the majority see climate change as the biggest threat, there are people who see an equal threat solely in vaccinations or diversity. For others it might be immigration, war or economy. Maybe the difference is that we invented devices and services to easi…