New Study Reveals That Americans Are Less Happy Than Ever Before, and This Impacts Their Collective World Outlook

Not sure that eating alone is a major indicator of actual individual happiness or not. However, it probably is a factor - and possibly even a strong one - when measuring happiness in a group. And as a group, more Americans are dining alone than ever before. 

When you think about it, there may be something to that. And it makes particular sense when you consider how conversation during dining is having an impact on our outlook on the world, and particularly our political views. As everyone knows by now, our poisonous and astonishingly polarized political realities these days surely is not an indicator that Americans are generally happy. That is probably true for people on both sides of the political divide.

According to Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a University of Oxford professor and an author of the report, dining alone does indeed have an impact on our outlook on the world and politics:  

“The fact that we’re increasingly socially isolated means also that we’re not testing our ideas about the world with other people,” he said. “And the more you sit around the table with other people who might have somewhat different views, the more you start moderating your own views. And the increasing lack of social interaction and social isolation as a result, for a lot of people — amplified by echo chambers — makes people more radical.”

Frankly, that makes sense to me.

Not surprisingly, Finland ranked on top of this World Happiness Report, much as they often rank highest in other enviable categories, such ad education and overall standard of living.

Below is the link to the New York Times article released earlier today. Take a look and see what you think. And please feel free and welcome to share your thoughts here with me.

Americans Are Unhappier Than Ever. Solo Dinining May Be a Sign.

Americans Are Unhappier Than Ever. Solo Dinining May Be a Sign. by Sopan Deb, March 20, 2025: The United States slipped to its lowest ranking ever in the World Happiness Report, in part because more Americans are eating alone. Once again, the Finns came out on top.

The U.S. slipped to its lowest ranking ever in the World Happiness Report — 24th — in part because Americans are eating alone more than ever.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/americans-solo-dining-happiness.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwY2xjawJJlLxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVBVqaiQmDRYOVNMx0bpbFSc-6YLD-McKlPSh-Lp8ysIzDgz-V_-7TlP1g_aem__JF7f-Peh_BtLlKiw5eN0w

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/americans-solo-dining-happiness.html