Why are young adults less happy than ever before?

New study finds happiness increases with age and does not peak in youth, marking a major shift from the usual trajectory. The United Nations-commissioned study published by the United States-based National Bureau of Economic Research reveals a consistent drop in life satisfaction and happiness among young adults in the last decade. Blanchflower, who worked on a similar study that surveyed African countries, titled The Mental Health of the Young in Africa, published by NBER in December 2024, said while about half of the huge continent’s population has never used the internet, those who have are likelier to show “mental health problems”. “The absence of the internet might help explain why the mental health of young Africans has been declining less than elsewhere,” the study said. “However, there are dangers on the horizon as the sales of smartphones explode.” The research paper evaluated studies across dozens of African countries that all showed a U-shaped happiness curve, suggesting a correlation between low internet access and higher happiness levels among youth.