An Informal Survey: Are Young People Happier than Old?

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about happiness. I watched some Dateline or 20/20 special about happiness that examined the concept of happiness and what contributes to people being happy. They also talked about who the happiest people on earth are. Not surprisingly, the happiest nation in the world is not the United States. I started wondering how happy young people are. Being a recent college graduate, I found the transition between the comforts of college to the hard reality of the "real world" to be somewhat difficult to navigate. I decided to conduct a survey to see just how happy young people are.

The Survey:

The purpose of my survey is to assess self-reported levels of happiness in male and female college graduates between the ages of 23-26 who have been out of college for less than five years. For the purposes of this assignment, happiness is defined as overall satisfaction one's current life situation and a positive outlook on the future. My goal is to find out how satisfied recent college graduates are with their life circumstances post-college and to learn about differences in self-reported happiness levels between male and female subjects.

Survey Description:

In order to administer my survey in a manner most convenient to both me and my subjects, I decided to pass out the surveys at a holiday potluck that was given by my apartment building management staff. Since most of the residents in my building are young people who have been out of college for a short amount of time, I could be sure that this method would be the best way to reach my audience. I made thirty copies of the survey and placed them on a table. I explained to my potential subjects that I am conducting a survey and explained the overall purpose of the study and how the concept of "happiness" is defined for the purpose of the study. I also said that I would be available for any questions or difficulties in answering the questions. Those who wanted to participate could pick up a survey from the table and place the survey face-down in a separate pile when finished. I thought that by placing the pile face-down subjects would feel more anonymous than if they were required to hand the survey directly to me.

I also explained to my potential subjects that the survey is designed for people between the ages of 23-26 who have been out of college for less than five years. Luckily, most people at the potluck were between that age range and the people who were older than that didn't seem to feel left out. Questions 1 and 2 of the survey verified the age requirements, in order to eliminate those who didn't hear or understand my instructions. Question 3 asked about the subject's gender because I thought it would be interesting to see if reported happiness levels vary according to the gender of a subject. The rest of the questions were designed to evaluate how the subject feels about life and the factors that influence the overall satisfaction and dissatisfaction with life.

Here are a few examples from the 10-question survey:

1. Are you male or female?

2.Overall, do you feel satisfied with your life?

Yes: ____ No: ____ It really depends on the day: ____ Other: ____

3. How would you rate your current level of happiness on a scale from 1 to 10? Note: 1 indicates the least amount of happiness and 10 indicates the largest level of happiness.

Not at all happy Moderately happy Very Happy
1 5 10

4. If you are currently experiencing happiness, which factors in your life contributes to this feeling the most?

5. How much do you agree with the following statement: I am in control of my own happiness?

Do not agree. Agree Somewhat Completely Agree
1 5 10

Results:

1. Both males and females seem happy, but report being happier in college than they are now.
2. The most common reasons why male subjects feel happy: financial stability and meaningful relationships.
3. The most common reasons why female subjects feel happy: career satisfaction and meaningful relationships.
4. The most common reasons why male subjects feel unhappy: "My life isn't where I thought it would be," and "financial worries.
5. The most common reasons why female subjects feel unhappy: "I cannot find a job/career that suits me" and "financial worries."

Final Thoughts:

Concerns over finances seem to affect the happiness levels of the majority of the subjects. Interestingly enough, several male subjects indicated that they are happy because of financial stability, but the same subjects also cited financial struggle as a reason for unhappiness. This indicates that happiness is highly dependent on financial well-being in these subjects.

Meaningful relationships appear to be important to both males and females, since that factor was a commonly checked answer to question # 6. More females than males reported "lack of meaningful relationships" to be one of the causes of unhappiness.

One of the female subjects gave consistently negative responses to nearly every question and wrote in several sarcastic answers. For example, for the question that asks "If you are unsatisfied with your life right now (not happy), please indicate the reasons why," she checked nearly every option and wrote in the response of "Because I have to take this survey." I get the feeling that her extreme responses do not reflect the way she truly feels, but reflects a need to be contrary. Since I analyzed my data after the potluck, I didn't get a chance to follow up with her. Also, I didn't want to embarrass her by challenging her responses, in case she is truly depressed.

For the most part, I feel that my subjects took the study seriously and enjoyed reporting on their lives. The study inspired a lot of conversation at the potluck and allowed people to reminisce about their days in college. Now, if only I could figure out a way to make everyone happy!