According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, the U.S. is no longer among the top 20 happiest countries in the world.
One of the reasons why the country didn’t make it is because people under 30 aren’t happy about their lives.
On Thursday, News4JAX asked several people if they were happy and mostly everyone responded they were.
“I am very happy. I am very happy,” Linda Sorrells said.
This year, the United States ranked number 23 on the report’s life evaluation, which is eight spots lower than it was in 2023.
It’s the first time in the report’s 12-year history the country isn’t in the top 20.
Americans under 30 responded they aren’t too positive about their lives, especially in the areas of social support, loneliness and social interactions.
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People under 30 here have a happiness rating of 6.39, while people 60 and above have a happiness rating of 7.25.
“Seeing my friends their junior years, senior years getting their degrees it made me feel bad about myself for a while. But I know everyone has their own lives,” Kortni Scott said.
Dr. Tracy Packiam Alloway, a psychologist and author, said younger people have expectations they’re supposed to be at a certain point in life, when they compare themselves to others.
“Yes it is very common this idea of feeling disaffected or unhappy is a more common way to view that. And in part, it is often a misalignment between expectations and their own goals or their own desires,” Packiam Alloway said.
At the same time happiness has dropped for people under 30 in the country, the country has a lot of money up for grabs, for those who like to gamble.
Between the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, there’s around $1.7 billion up for grabs.
Could winning the lottery improve someone’s happiness?
News4JAX spoke to several people who said they don’t think winning a lot of money would be a quick fix for making people happier.
“It will make me less stressed. I wouldn’t say money would make me happier, but it would bring down my stress levels a lot,” Akhari Roberts said.
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Packiam Alloway said a way for people to begin to feel better about themselves or feel better is to start telling themselves things they’re grateful for which could change their outlook on life.