How to Make America's Young People Happier Again
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Director of Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre and co-author of the World Happiness Report, discusses the alarming decline in youth happiness in North America and Western Europe, contrasting it with rising well-being in other regions. He explores contributing factors like social media and political polarization, offering advice for parents and youth to foster better social connection and well-being.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Introduction to Youth Happiness Trends
Defining Child and Adolescent Well-being
Importance of Youth Well-being for Adult Outcomes
The U-Shaped Relationship Between Age and Well-being
Breakdown of U-Shape: Youth Unhappiness in North America
Global Differences in Youth Happiness Trends
Factors Contributing to North American Youth Unhappiness
Societal and Parental Strategies for Youth Well-being
Individual Advice for Young People to Improve Well-being
Positive Youth Happiness Trends in Other Regions
Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe's Youth Happiness
Making Child Happiness a National Priority
5 Key Concepts
Child and Adolescent Well-being (World Happiness Report)
Defined by the World Happiness Report as individuals between 10 and 24 years of age, this category encompasses late adolescence due to ongoing neurological development and the availability of data from specific datasets. This age group's well-being is considered crucial because it is a strong predictor of adult life outcomes.
U-shaped Relationship between Age and Well-being
This describes a typical global pattern where well-being starts high in childhood, declines towards a midlife crisis (late 30s-early 40s) due as life pressures increase, and then rises again in older age as responsibilities shift and expectations become more realistic.
Sibling-Fixed Effects
A research control method used to account for shared family background and socioeconomic status when comparing differences between siblings. By analyzing differences in well-being and future outcomes within the same family, researchers can more accurately isolate the impact of individual well-being.
Global Convergence in Well-being
A trend where youth well-being in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia, and Central/Eastern Europe is increasing, while simultaneously decreasing in North America and Western Europe. This results in a narrowing of the happiness gap between these regions, partly attributed to a reduction in global economic inequalities.
Pro-social Behaviors
Acts of kindness or help directed towards others, such as volunteering, donating, or assisting strangers. Research indicates that these behaviors not only benefit the recipients but also causally improve the well-being and mental health of the person performing the actions.
10 Questions Answered
Studying child and adolescent well-being is crucial because it is the best predictor of an individual's life outcomes, quality of life, and earnings as an adult. Mental health challenges in youth can track throughout a person's life course.
Typically, well-being follows a U-shaped pattern: starting high in childhood, declining through midlife (late 30s-early 40s) due to life pressures, and then rising again in older age as expectations become more realistic and responsibilities lessen.
In North America, particularly the U.S., the initial high point of the U-shape has flattened or even reversed. Young people (below 25-30) now report lower self-rated quality of life than adults, a trend that began 10-15 years ago and exacerbated during COVID.
If ranked solely on youth well-being (below 30), the U.S. would drop to 63rd globally, a significant decline from its overall population ranking (typically top 20), indicating a severe issue with youth happiness.
Multiple factors are involved, including rising within-country inequalities, political polarization, a deteriorating social fabric, and significantly, the pervasive use of social media, with young people spending an average of 4.5 hours daily on these platforms.
Yes, similar to how guardrails and regulations (e.g., seatbelts) were introduced for cars to enhance safety, society can advocate for limitations and norms for social media use to harness its benefits while mitigating negative impacts.
Parents should first try to understand the complex pressures their children face, such as social media algorithms and future work uncertainties, rather than just imposing limits. They can also coordinate with other parents or schools to establish collective norms around technology use.
Young people should take agency over their time, set boundaries with social media, and actively work to re-establish a culture of in-person connection. Engaging in pro-social behaviors like volunteering or helping others has been shown to improve one's own well-being.
Central and Eastern European countries (like Lithuania, which ranks highest for youth happiness) and parts of the Global South are seeing increases in youth well-being. This is attributed to reducing global inequalities, wealth transfers (e.g., EU funds), and existing foundations for wealth redistribution.
Education systems can introduce 'life skills' courses alongside traditional subjects like STEM, as seen in programs in the UK. Teaching these skills helps create happier, more balanced individuals, potentially improving academic performance as well.
11 Actionable Insights
1. Invest in Youth Mental Health
Recognize that child and adolescent mental health is the best predictor of adult life outcomes, including earnings. Societies and individuals should urgently invest in youth well-being as it tracks throughout people’s life course and affects future societal health.
2. Push for Social Media Regulation
As a society, parents, and individuals, advocate for government and tech companies to implement “guardrails” for social media, similar to car safety regulations. This could include limitations on usage time or features to harness benefits while mitigating negative impacts.
3. Foster In-Person Social Connection
Actively work to re-establish a culture of in-person social connection, especially among youth. Make efforts to get out of your comfort zone and talk to people face-to-face, rather than relying solely on technology for interaction.
4. Practice Benevolent Acts
Consistently do good things for other people through pro-social behaviors like volunteering, donating, helping strangers, or talking to them. These acts not only benefit recipients but are causally linked to improving your own well-being.
5. Parents: Listen to Your Children
Parents should first and foremost try to understand the complex and difficult societal situation their children face, including constant attention battles from social media and future work uncertainties. Start with listening rather than immediately imposing limits.
6. Parents: Coordinate Tech Boundaries
Parents should coordinate with other parents or local schools to establish collective norms and reference points regarding technology and app usage. This helps mitigate peer pressure and creates a healthier environment for children’s well-being.
7. Youth: Control Your Attention
As a young person, understand that your attention is constantly being fought over by social media platforms. Take agency over your own time by setting boundaries and not letting yourself be consumed by these platforms.
8. Engage Actively on Social Media
When using social media, aim for active engagement (reaching out, talking about yourself, connecting) rather than passive consumption. Active use can be beneficial for well-being, while passive use is not recommended.
9. Curate News for Positivity
Be aware that algorithms often prioritize negative news due to human hardwiring for threats. Actively manage your news consumption by unticking automatic notifications and subscribing to more positive news sources to balance information intake.
10. Teach Life Skills in Schools
Work with schools and curriculum developers to introduce life skills and happiness science into the education system. Teaching these skills, alongside traditional subjects, helps create happier, more balanced human beings and can improve overall performance.
11. Teens: Take Free Happiness Course
If you are a teen or know one, consider taking “The Science of Well-Being for Teens” course, which teaches happiness skills. It is accessible for free at coursera.org.
5 Key Quotes
Mental health as a child or as an adolescent is the best predictor of life outcomes and quality of life or life satisfaction as an adult.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
If you were to split the population, youth, older, and everyone in between, if you were to do a ranking just on youth populations around the world, the U.S. would drop to 63rd.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Not investing in the youth of today being 63rd means we're likely to be 63rd, you know, into adulthood and into many decades to come.
Laurie Santos
We don't have a culture anymore of speaking to each other and let that sink in for a moment. That's pretty bad.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
If you think about moving from ill being to well being, it doesn't take much. It takes moving from I to we, and you move ill being to well being.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
2 Protocols
Parental Approach to Supporting Youth Well-being
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve- Try to understand the complexity of the situation your kids are in, recognizing societal pressures like social media algorithms and future work uncertainties.
- Start by listening to your own children and understanding the pressures they are under, rather than immediately bossing them around or imposing hard limits.
- Coordinate with other parents or your local school to establish collective norms or recommendations regarding technology use and other peer pressures, making it easier for individuals to adopt healthier practices.
- Advocate for societal guardrails, similar to car safety regulations, to introduce limitations on social media usage (e.g., 'seatbelts' or 'speed limits' for platforms).
- Harness the positive aspects of technology by ensuring social media use leads to physical connections and real-life bonding, rather than passive consumption.
Individual Strategies for Youth Well-being
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve- Understand that you are living in a complex situation where your attention is being fought over by brilliantly designed social media platforms.
- Take agency over your own time by setting boundaries and not letting yourself be consumed by big social media platforms.
- Make efforts to re-establish a culture of in-person connection by getting out of your comfort zone to speak to and bond with others.
- Engage in pro-social behaviors, such as volunteering, donating small amounts, helping strangers, or talking to strangers, as these acts causally improve your own well-being.