Falling life satisfaction splits evenly between financial worry and lost social ties

Evidence

In the decades since the Fab Four topped the charts, life satisfaction among adult Americans has declined steadily. Roughly half the decline in contentment is associated with financial worries, and half is associated with declines in social capital: lower marriage rates and decreasing connectedness to friends and community. Not all segments of the population are equally gloomy. Survey data show that the slump has been greatest among young and middle-aged adults (twenty to fifty-five). People over fifty-five—our familiar friends from the long civic generation—are actually happier than were people their age a generation ago. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 1169

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Broken social ties force individuals to treat love as a self-managed risk venture — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with…, 351; Responsive social support in times of adversity is linked to increased satisfaction, intimacy, and trust in couples. — Thriving through relationships

Broader Connections

• Broken social ties force individuals to treat love as a self-managed risk venture #expands (0.75) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 351