Today’s Young Adults Aren’t as Happy as They Used to Be
A Study Shows Youth No Longer Means Higher Well-Being
May 2, 2025
For many years, researchers believed that people were generally happy when they were young, then their happiness levels dipped during midlife, and finally started rising again as they got older. However, a large study involving over 200,000 people across more than 20 countries now shows that people in their late teens and twenties today are not as happy or well-adjusted as people of the same age used to be in the past.
The study, called the Global Flourishing Study, looked at how people of different ages view their lives, focusing not just on happiness, but on a idea of “flourishing” — a term the researchers use to mean doing well across different parts of life – emotional wellbeing, physical and mental health, strong relationships, a sense of purpose, good character and financial stability, according to Nature Mental Health.
The study found that younger adults, especially those aged between 18 and 29, scored lower in nearly all of these areas. Their sense of meaning, peace of mind, health and relationships were all rated poorly by the individuals themselves.
The results challenge the old belief that youth is the most vibrant and fulfilling phase of life.
Instead of the happiness curve being “U-shaped” — high in youth, dipping in midlife and rising again in older age — the study found a flat line until around age 50, with improvement only after that. In other words, young people today don’t start out with high wellbeing that dips later. They begin with low scores, which don’t improve significantly until much later in life.
The pattern was seen across many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. But it was most pronounced in the United States. There, the average flourishing score for young adults was just 5.68 out of 10, while those in their sixties scored over 8. This difference is not only large — it’s also unusual.
The study also offered insights into other factors that influence flourishing. One of them is religious involvement. People who attended religious services regularly — about once a week or more — consistently reported higher levels of flourishing across all countries surveyed. This included better mental health, a stronger sense of purpose and more positive outlooks on life. Around one-third of all participants reported attending weekly services.
The data for this study was collected in 2023 through a mix of phone, in-person and online surveys carried out by Gallup, a U.S.-based analytics and polling company. The study is designed to follow the same group of people over several years to understand how their lives and wellbeing change over time.
The countries involved were varied — from Indonesia, India and Nigeria to Sweden and the U.S. — and they represent more than half of the world’s population.
The reasons behind the trend are not yet fully understood.
One theory is that these challenges are part of being young and that people may feel better as they grow older — what researchers call an “age effect.” But there’s also the possibility that something about this generation in particular — a “cohort effect,” meaning their lower well-being could be linked to the specific social, economic or cultural conditions they’ve grown up with, and not just their age— is driving the trend. If that’s the case, their wellbeing might not automatically improve with age.
Mental health was a key area where younger people showed especially low scores. Although physical health usually gets worse with age, the study found that mental health was often poorest among the youngest adults. This was especially visible in countries like Brazil, Sweden and the United States.
The researchers suggest that it is time for societies to seriously consider whether enough is being done to help young people live stable, meaningful and fulfilling lives.
