What Makes Young Americans Happy? New Poll Reveals Insights
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new poll from Gallup found that Gen Z happiness is largely fueled by their commitment to work/school and the meaning they find in their everyday activities.
The poll, which collected responses from an age range of 12 to 26-year-olds, found that nearly three-quarters of Gen Z are relatively joyful, with 25% calling themselves very happy and 48% saying they are somewhat happy.
The difference between those who are happy and those who are not largely comes from their daily life. Of those who identify as happy, 60% say they do something interesting every day, compared to 28% within the unhappy group saying the same.
A similar discrepancy was seen in motivation, with 60% of those who are happy revealing that they feel motivated to go to work or school, while only 31% of the unhappy group felt the same way.
The poll also dove into feelings of purpose, collecting responses on how often Gen Zers feel their life has purpose and direction. The responses largely mirrored that of the happiness question.
A large majority felt that their “life matters,” with 45% always feeling that way and 28% often feeling that way. A lesser amount felt their lives have direction with only 28% always feeling that way, followed by 32% often feeling that way.
While the poll makes it clear that finding enjoyment in everyday life is crucial for happiness, it fails to explain why happiness across the country is the lowest it’s been in decades. Earlier this year, the U.S. failed to make the top 20 list of the world’s happiest countries, dropping from 15th in 2023 to 23rd in 2024.
Perhaps the drop in happiness has to do with a reliance on the world rather than a reliance on Christ. Currently, only 22% of young Americans attend church on a weekly basis leaving them little foundation for when life becomes difficult. However, Christ promises peace and joy in all of life’s circumstances which means Christians can find hope—and happiness—even when they face pain and suffering.
Rather than extrapolating from this poll the band-aid solution that younger Americans need to do things that they feel motivated to do, the response should be to point young Americans toward Christ where they can experience true happiness regardless of their surroundings.
Movieguide® previously reported on happiness:
The Wall Street Journal-NORC conducted a poll that researched the happiness of Americans. The research showed that majority of Americans are not happy.
A whopping 12% of Americans said they were “very happy,” however, just a few years ago the number was 30%. Additionally, the total number of people who are unhappy has sky-rocketed in just a few years.
The study revealed three factors that attributed to people’s happiness: community, age, and religion.
In fact, over two-thirds of those in the poll stated that their happiness was largely credited to their “belief in God” because it was “very important” to them. Those two-thirds who said they were “very happy” also said that their marriage played a large factor. In addition, forty percent of those who said they were “very happy” put an emphasis on “community involvement.”
Psychology Professor from Amherst College, Catherine Sanderson stated that other than close relationships, religious beliefs “give people a sense of meaning.”
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