Here you go, OP (full-access preprint here). There’s no need to get anecdotal about this; it’s a very well-studied question in psychology, sociology, and economics. The U-shape has extensive evidence supporting it. If “have you gotten progressively less happy as you age?” were the prompt here, I wouldn’t be doing this, but you asked a general question that can be and has been answered empirically over and over.
From Tech’s Link…
You missed a call
Hell yeah
So, it can get better, but rarely if ever does it compare to the blithe joys of youth.
I do wonder if this upturn is related to cognitive decline, and therefore ties into the old “ignorance is bliss” adage, then.
Hell, maybe that has something to do with old folks enjoying reruns: it reminds them of their life, then and now. 🤔😅
They’ve also often got lower stress levels, higher wealth and/or more time than people in their thirties to fifties do. I’d be really interested if they’re also happier than their middle aged counterparts in countries where the elderly are disconnected from their communities and not financially supported.
Edit: it’s true around the world, but I’m not sure if it’s true in every country or just generally yet
And, when younger, expenses were less likely to be their responsibility, ergo “more wealth”, et al, in youth as well. 🤓
The question is, if this is correlation or causation. Maybe some people just do less things, that make them happy as they age? Doesn’t mean that you are gonna be unhappy.
Also, this is an average and I imagine, that there is a very high variance among different people. A lot of people may very well get progressively, happier as they age.
I would say, that happiness comes very much down to how you live your life, how you view the world and what you do.
If you have a job, that makes you happy and good relationships and stuff like that, you are probably gonna be happy regardless of your age.
There are peaks and valleys. I’ve been happier, but I’ve been more miserable.
My heart says no but the micro plastic in my brain says yes.
People born in the late 90s onward sure do, we get to see every expected milestone dissapear under a pile of enshitification and vanishing wages/opportunities as people who increasingly seem like disney villains do their best to make everything even worse.
I feel you. I’m a child of the early eighties and my adult experiences have made me jaded as hell with debilitating trust issues. I’ve just about given up on anything improving.
I don’t know about others, but as I grow older and realise I have progressively less time left, I grow less patient of other people’s bullshit. Some people may consider it a symptom of diminished happiness, but it’s more a degradation of my social filters.
I would say it depends on your ability to live your life in a way that makes you happy. It’s a kind of nothing answer, but human experience largely boils down to ability to self determine internally and externally.
Im my case was the opposite; the farthest I get from my abusive and narcissists parents the happier I get…
Nope, it’s personal and specific to how you lived your life.
No, there is a well-studied and objective answer to this general question. Even though people will vary, there’s a crystal-clear trend that’s been studied over and over again as a perennial question in psychology, sociology, and economics. We don’t have to base any of this on vibes, and arguably a question with a definitive answer like this doesn’t belong here.
A large empirical literature has debated the existence of a U-shaped happiness-age curve. This paper re-examines the relationship between various measures of well-being and age in 145 countries, including 109 developing countries, controlling for education and marital and labor force status, among others, on samples of individuals under the age of 70. The U-shape of the curve is forcefully confirmed, with an age minimum, or nadir, in midlife around age 50 in separate analyses for developing and advanced countries as well as for the continent of Africa. The happiness curve seems to be everywhere. While panel data are largely unavailable for this issue, and the findings using such data largely confirm the cross-section results, the paper discusses insights on why cohort effects do not drive the findings. I find the age of the minima has risen over time in Europe and the USA.
There is no empirical way to measure happiness, just because a paper says so doesn’t mean, that it’s objectively correct
Whoah, watch out. We got a scientific badass over here! Don’t follow too close, peasants, or you’ll trip over their trailing list of doctorates! 😱🫡
I’m 55 and can honestly say I am more happy today then I have ever been in the past, not because of money or lots of friends but because I have learned a lot about myself in the last 10 years.
Under late-stage capitalism, yes.
Developmental psychology (Erik Erickson’s theory) teaches us that adults tend to go one of two ways as they approach and hit mid-life - generativity and stagnation. People who have a purpose, who are considering leaving some sort of mark or legacy, to contributing to society tend to fare better. They are happier and more satisfied as time goes on. Folks who become self-absorbed and preoccupied with their own comfort and convenience will then stagnate, which you can imagine is the cranky old person stereotype.
I do subscribe to this theory which is why at 43 I am running a non-profit I started, working to empower other leaders in my community, working on changing legislation for my community, working on building the community itself. I want to be the kind of person who is generous and kind and open-hearted, and be fulfilled. I don’t want to be the person who is counting the ways life did them wrong, using that as a justification to lick wounds and retreat from life, jaded and alone.
Folks who become self-absorbed and preoccupied with their own comfort and convenience
the person who is counting the ways life did them wrong, using that as a justification to lick wounds and retreat from life, jaded and alone.
You’re a poet.
But yeah, I’ve met plenty of people exactly like this. Honestly it’s just so unpleasant to be around, I would think everyone would be filled with the fear of ending up that way
I fear that I am at this crossroads place right now in my life, also at 43. I’m forcing myself to be a part of a group that seeks societal change for the better, but honestly it’s a struggle. It could go either way.
Must be nice not having to worry so much over paying fundamental living expenses, much less the looming risk of bankruptcy or worse from a random medical emergency, etc. 😅🤌🏼
I’m in my 70’s. I feel I’ve been getting happier over time. Kids grow up and leave, Work becomes stable. Finances become more stable. When you retire, it’s like a whole new life (as long as you plan it correctly).
the older you get, the more health problems you have, and let me tell you, health problems can make you involuntarily unhappy.
My unhappiness peaked in highschool. Although current events have me closer to that level than I’ve been in a long time. Having friends that don’t suck now helps a lot.
Yes, the hardest part of my life was 14-20 or so. only halfway through college did things start to improve.
And the biggest component was the people around me being awful. Currently I’ve having another dip in my life… and it’s all due to the people around me again. I feel like I’m going backwards to high school in terms of people surrounded by provincial small-minded and nasty people. I miss being around open-minded folks.
if you’re from a loving, supportive family: Yes for a time you can get unhappy as you age. You get more and more responsibilities. And by Responsibilities I mean you are expected to do things without praise. Like taking care of yourself and then a family. No one claps for you getting groceries or taking out the garbage. (Though if your in an abusing family this is very different : you can get happier as you get closer to the age to escape)
Then, once you adapt to this and you become self reliant for approval, it gets easier. You get happier in more self sustaining ways in which you get hobbies. Embrace the freedom of choices.
Then one day responsibilities get lighter. Like maybe someone who’s been very reliant on you develops their own independence and leaves.
And then you’re even more happier than ever. Happy for them. You helped get them there and grow. Also happy for yourself as you get more free time to do stuff for you.
Like imagine being that person you wanted to grow up to be as child with no parents or other responsibilities to stop you from doing things you wanted to do. And the best thing: you have the confidence and life story to know you’re entirely capable now.
That’s if you’re doing this self development thing right.
I’ve known ppl who don’t ever develop personal acceptance and end up in earlier life cycles of constant dependencies on others around them and bouncing back into depression. constantly reliving a specific age: like remarriage / recapture a prom night experience / doing something just to get dad approval like that’s the happiest they ever could be. And it always includes seeking approval. Someone else has to be a centric piece to their happiness. Someone else always has to act a part.
Tldr: Look after your mental health. Roll the hard six. Sometimes discomfort is growth. If this is something you can’t live with: talk to a professional to help you get there cuz this is part of being human and your brain will trick you into doing some meaningless, wasteful shit if you don’t trick it first.
