Younger people everywhere are unhappier — NYT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Also, Republicans tend to be more religious —God is sovereign and in control, whereas Democrats tend to be secular —Government is sovereign. When the Democrats don’t have their people running the government they become depressed and despondent, “Woe is me…the planet is doomed…fascism…boo-hoohoo…”

Funny I watched MAGA melt down all 4 years of Biden screaming about the end of the world and WW3....shut it you sound stupid.

It’s better to cultivate curiosity instead of the hatred you carry. But, I can see how people are reporting lower levels of happiness. Some of this is self imposed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The religious aspect was not originally our reason for sending our kids to a Catholic high school (we're cradle Catholics but "Christmas and Easter" types at best)... but now that they've been there for awhile, I can't help but think about what a good thing it's been for our teens' mental health. There are service requirements, quiet prayer time is built into every day (or just reflection if you're not the praying type), the required theology classes allow kids an intentional opportunity to think about who they are and how they can use their gifts to make the world a better place, the masses allow the school to come together for prayer and/or reflection...there are other things I love about the school that I think are also beneficial to mental health (phones away all day, very limited tech use, etc.) but the religious aspect -- even for kids that aren't very religious -- has been more powerful and beneficial than I could have ever realized.

Of course there are kids with mental health issues at Catholic school- it's not a cure all. But I do think having those very intentional opportunities for service, reflection/prayer, and learning about things bigger than oneself can be a good protective factor against some of these issues.

I posted at 10:02 and 10:08 and completely agree with you on the issues of public and benefits of parochial school however there is a time period as a teen into young adult where you have to grow up from this world of black and white right from wrong and accept the good and bad in yourself and in the world and just move towards the positive as best you can. Despite all the benefits of parochial school like you mentioned, many many people stay stuck in this black/white world and self view and can't seem to grow up from it.

So while the public schools have a bit more realism and pessimism than ideal trying to meet a multitude of learner levels and cultures and economic levels, it seems like a lot of parochial kids are somehow left stunted as they move into adulthood focusing on the kingdom of God rather than their own life and world. There is no way you can look at MAGA and not see the hatred spewing forth from that group. It's a group that is basically immature in their thinking even if they have some valid concerns.

To get to a mature but positive mind frame you have to develop a goldilocks virtue model or whole brain thought. This article explains it better.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thinking-in-black-white-and-gray/202005/finding-goldilocks-solution-black-and-white-thinking

NP.

Are you talking about Catholic school? Black and white thinking, "Focusing on the kingdom of God", etc. sounds very Evangelical to me. It certainly wasn't my experience in Catholic school. Maybe you're thinking of stricter Opus Dei et al., type schools like The Heights? I went to a Dominican high school and one of the things I appreciated most about my education was the critical thinking abilities it instilled in me- we had so many robust discussions (and assignments!) on ethics, morality, etc. and the nuance. Loved it.

Maybe some schools were like that. The people you see at church regularly today. Not like this. In line with evangelicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

I think that is how republicans think they are but that's not what actually happens. Trump for example is hopeful by being hateful. So his hope is contingent on someone else taking the blame. Obama was also hopeful but to me not as hateful to others. It's not really the same as being hopeful if you are pinning all the bad of the world on someone else and they both did this to some extent but Trump does this at a much higher rate. I get why someone with narcissistic tendencies might think they are superior and think they come across as happier while hating on others but that is also not healthy and a lot of people who are like Trump and like "winning" and picking out "losers" tend to be losers themselves in real life and really their hopefulness is fake. They just deflect problems onto others and eventually get fired, etc. when people figure out they are full of hot air and have just been elevating themselves above who they really are and won't take personal responsibility. The most republican areas of the country aren't exactly booming, and we're told they voted for Trump because they were made hard up by democrats so from the start they come across as failing underdogs, not the winners they proclaim themselves to be. You see this a lot with religious people too. They sign themselves a label and then pretend everything they do is ordained by god rather than realizing both God and Satan or just themselves can create evil and nothing they do is from God but that they have their own agency and often choose wrong over right.

I do think republican areas can be a little bit more simple living and due to that they probably come across as having fewer cares beyond their immediate circle. That part is a little healthier than democrats who sometimes think way beyond their influence and stress over matters that don't involve them, but really if you talk to either of them, one group blames others and the other group tries to manage beyond their control. They are both flawed, just in different ways.

Last bit is true. Republicans only care about their problems, and figuring out how to afford the latest F150 is a much more solvable problem than climate change or societal inequality.

True but the Sierra Club posting that rich people in NYC are healthier for the planet than a poor family in West Virginia didn't help. Many wealthy democrats are hypocrites for the problems they are trying to solve. Republicans want to ignore the larger problems on the environment and democrats want to blame the other party on the environment. Healthiest people are in the middle having a mix of pessimism and optimism

They never mentioned wealth, they simply talked about carbon footprint of urban vs rural living. You are injecting the class warfare in your framing.

The carbon footprint was wrong. As soon as you include all the things the urbanites use their carbon footprint explodes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Also, Republicans tend to be more religious —God is sovereign and in control, whereas Democrats tend to be secular —Government is sovereign. When the Democrats don’t have their people running the government they become depressed and despondent, “Woe is me…the planet is doomed…fascism…boo-hoohoo…”

Funny I watched MAGA melt down all 4 years of Biden screaming about the end of the world and WW3....shut it you sound stupid.

It’s better to cultivate curiosity instead of the hatred you carry. But, I can see how people are reporting lower levels of happiness. Some of this is self imposed.

Careful. You are projecting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ7A8-YgFHM/

This is sad to see. Although it's interesting to me that older people seem to be happier than people in middle age. Is that true? I thought there was an elderly mental health crisis. Rise in suicide rates among elderly etc

Myself am ncreasingly depressed to see that my children are set to inherit a world that is deepening in inequity and loss of opportunity and rise in social media which only makes everything worse. Kids have it tough these days.

I’m not going to say things are great right now, but I think people have a very short view of history to think things are exceptionally bad now. It’s not the 70’s when teenagers were being shipped off to Vietnam, or the 40’s when all the men were fighting WW2, or the Great Depression when people were out of work and starving, or the Civil War when the whole country was embroiled in war.

Sure things could be better, but let’s keep some sense of perspective on it all.

+1

Kids are whiny and soft. They don’t know real struggle. That’s why every kid from a certain background is diagnosed with anxiety and poor executive function.

People I know who went through real struggles are resilient and resourceful. The coddled kids are a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Also, Republicans tend to be more religious —God is sovereign and in control, whereas Democrats tend to be secular —Government is sovereign. When the Democrats don’t have their people running the government they become depressed and despondent, “Woe is me…the planet is doomed…fascism…boo-hoohoo…”

Funny I watched MAGA melt down all 4 years of Biden screaming about the end of the world and WW3....shut it you sound stupid.

It’s better to cultivate curiosity instead of the hatred you carry. But, I can see how people are reporting lower levels of happiness. Some of this is self imposed.

Careful. You are projecting.

Um, the PP said “shut it, you sound stupid.” That’s not projection. Could be inferring, though. You can correct the record in that you don’t hate “MAGA.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Also, Republicans tend to be more religious —God is sovereign and in control, whereas Democrats tend to be secular —Government is sovereign. When the Democrats don’t have their people running the government they become depressed and despondent, “Woe is me…the planet is doomed…fascism…boo-hoohoo…”

Funny I watched MAGA melt down all 4 years of Biden screaming about the end of the world and WW3....shut it you sound stupid.

It’s better to cultivate curiosity instead of the hatred you carry. But, I can see how people are reporting lower levels of happiness. Some of this is self imposed.

Careful. You are projecting.

Um, the PP said “shut it, you sound stupid.” That’s not projection. Could be inferring, though. You can correct the record in that you don’t hate “MAGA.”

But they’re wrong. The last four years have been about bro-casts talking about how sad boys are and how incels need women but women don’t like them and boo-hoo hoo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We destroyed childhood and young adulthood. We made it competitive, stressful, and pressure filled. You used to be allowed to be lazy and idle in your youth, to experiment and try stuff out without major consequences.
...
We destroyed childhood. We destroyed summer, we destroyed after school, we ruined school sports and activities. We ruined academics with a fixation on test taking and benchmarking over wholistic learning, sustained attention, and deep learning. Oh yeah, and we addicted everyone to personal device screens which numb and distract but actually diminish happiness as they replace interpersonal interactions and physical activity, which are both known to boost endorphins and happiness.

We messed it up folks, but it's not too late. We can fix it. But step one is to acknowledge we have a problem.

To say you were allowed to be lazy and idle is to have a very short view of history. Early 20th century and before young people were largely doing chores on the family farm from a very young age. And go back even further and they weren't even really allowed to have much of a teenagehood - they were getting factory jobs or starting families. In hunter gatherer situations 8 year olds were raising 2 year olds in a pack of kids, and that kind of situation lasted until the late 19th century in some communities (read Lark Rise to Candleford to see it described in 1890s rural England).

It certainly has fluctuated in the last 8 centuries.
https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/worktime/hours_workweek.html

Eight centuries of annual hours
13th century - Adult male peasant, U.K.: 1620 hours
Calculated from Gregory Clark's estimate of 150 days per family, assumes 12 hours per day, 135 days per year for adult male ("Impatience, Poverty, and Open Field Agriculture", mimeo, 1986)

14th century - Casual laborer, U.K.: 1440 hours
Calculated from Nora Ritchie's estimate of 120 days per year. Assumes 12-hour day. ("Labour conditions in Essex in the reign of Richard II", in E.M. Carus-Wilson, ed., Essays in Economic History, vol. II, London: Edward Arnold, 1962).

Middle ages - English worker: 2309 hours
Juliet Schor's estime of average medieval laborer working two-thirds of the year at 9.5 hours per day

1400-1600 - Farmer-miner, adult male, U.K.: 1980 hours

Calculated from Ian Blanchard's estimate of 180 days per year. Assumes 11-hour day ("Labour productivity and work psychology in the English mining industry, 1400-1600", Economic History Review 31, 23 (1978).

1840 - Average worker, U.K.: 3105-3588 hours
Based on 69-hour week; hours from W.S. Woytinsky, "Hours of labor," in Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. III (New York: Macmillan, 1935). Low estimate assumes 45 week year, high one assumes 52 week year

1850 - Average worker, U.S.: 3150-3650 hours
Based on 70-hour week; hours from Joseph Zeisel, "The workweek in American industry, 1850-1956", Monthly Labor Review 81, 23-29 (1958). Low estimate assumes 45 week year, high one assumes 52 week year

1987 - Average worker, U.S.: 1949 hours
From The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, by Juliet B. Schor, Table 2.4

1988 - Manufacturing workers, U.K.: 1856 hours
Calculated from Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Office of Productivity and Technology

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Also, Republicans tend to be more religious —God is sovereign and in control, whereas Democrats tend to be secular —Government is sovereign. When the Democrats don’t have their people running the government they become depressed and despondent, “Woe is me…the planet is doomed…fascism…boo-hoohoo…”

Funny I watched MAGA melt down all 4 years of Biden screaming about the end of the world and WW3....shut it you sound stupid.

Biden was a mental and physical vegetable all those four years.
No wonder Putin, Iran, N Korea, and China made so much headway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

+1 It's really that kids who don't have diehard liberal parents are happier.

We moved out of the DC area and in general the kids are much happier. People rarely discuss politics in social settings. Also they didn't close public schools for a year and a half, but that decision to inflict trauma on children directly leads back to progressive politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

+1 It's really that kids who don't have diehard liberal parents are happier.

We moved out of the DC area and in general the kids are much happier. People rarely discuss politics in social settings. Also they didn't close public schools for a year and a half, but that decision to inflict trauma on children directly leads back to progressive politics.

This is a global trend; it's not about American politics. The teen suicide rate is also highest in places like Montana, so I don't think the kids of conservatives are at all immune to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids of republicans tend to be happier. Republicans tend to have a more hopeful perspective than democrats. Democrats tend to amplify the negative to a degree that is terrifying and kids aren’t mature enough to recognize that some of it is hyperbole. But even when it is hyperbole, the general undertone of democrats is a sad and dire view of humans, the country, the world, etc. whereas republicans tend to have a more pragmatic view about trying to fix things that can be fixed and accept those that can’t. I’m independent and that is my observation. This forum is heavily democratic as is the NYT so I think it just naturally skews in a confirmation bias direction on things like this.

Kids of Republicans are generally wealthier. But there’s no evidence they are actually happier.

As for “Democrats amplify the negative…” Were you not paying attention to Trump’s three presidential campaigns? In both the one he won and two he lost his message was incredibly negative about how much America sucks. Quite the contrast with Obama’s “hope and change.”

[Anonymous]

This obsession with politics is unhealthy. And it’s ridiculous. Follow it, sure. But don’t let something consume you that you have zero control over.

[Anonymous]

They are just a bunch of wussies.

[Anonymous]

If I knew then what I know now, I would not have brought children into this world. All four of mine are depressed and hopeless.