{"id":79975,"date":"2019-04-04T17:40:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T21:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=79975"},"modified":"2019-04-04T18:44:55","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T22:44:55","slug":"atlantic-brad-wilcox-and-lyman-stone-the-happiness-recession-among-todays-young-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=79975","title":{"rendered":"(Atlantic) Brad Wilcox and Lyman Stone–The Happiness Recession among today’s young adults"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2018, happiness among young adults in America fell to a record low<\/a>. The share of adults ages 18 to 34 reporting that they were\u201cvery happy\u201d in life fell to 25 percent\u2014the lowest level that the General Social Survey, a key barometer of American social life, has ever recorded for that population. Happiness fell most among young men\u2014with only 22 percent of young men (and 28 percent of young women) reporting that they were \u201cvery happy\u201d in 2018.’<\/p>\n

We wondered whether this trend was rooted in distinct shifts in young adults\u2019 social ties\u2014including what The Atlantic <\/em>has called \u201cthe sex recession<\/a>,\u201d that is, a marked decline in sexual activity for this group in recent years. Human beings find meaning, direction, and purpose in and through our social relationships with others. We\u2019re happiest when our ties with others are deep and strong. And the research tells us that the ebb and flow of happiness in America is clearly linked<\/a> to the quality and character of our social ties<\/a>\u2014including our friendships, community ties, and marriage. It\u2019s also linked<\/a>, specifically, to the frequency with which we have sex. In the antiseptic language<\/a> of two economists who study happiness, \u201csexual activity enters strongly positively in happiness equations.\u201d<\/p>\n

So we investigated four indicators of sociability among today\u2019s young adults\u2014marriage, friendship, religious attendance, and sex\u2014in an effort to explain the \u201chappiness recession\u201d among today\u2019s young adults.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

American unhappiness is tied to the “sex recession.” @WilcoxNMP<\/a> @lymanstoneky<\/a> @FamStudies<\/a> in the Atlantic today.<\/p>\n

“Declining sex is…partly about family and religious changes that make it harder for people to achieve stable, coupled life at a young age.”https:\/\/t.co\/zgj7VC9805<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Toscano (@MichaelTToscano) April 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n