American happiness level at historic low of 14% revealed a new poll

New Gallup poll shows that national pride also at lowest levels

The COVID Response Tracking Study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago revealed that only 14% Americans are happy with their situation which is historic low. It finds that just 14% of American adults say they're very happy, down from 31% who said the same in 2018. That year, 23% said they'd often or sometimes felt isolated in recent weeks. Now, the figure is at 50%.

The survey, conducted in late May, draws on nearly a half-century of research from the General Social Survey, which has collected data on American attitudes and behaviors at least every other year since 1972. No less than 29% of Americans have ever called themselves very happy in that survey.

With about half the year still left, polling shows that Americans are the unhappiest they've been in 50 years and exhibiting historically low levels of national pride.

On top of COVID-19 killing over 116,000 people in the US, it has led to restrictions that have left millions of people unemployed and pushed the country further into recession. Meanwhile, quarantines and social-distancing guidelines have left many Americans feeling isolated.

The public is less optimistic today about the standard of living improving for the next generation than it has been in the past 25 years. Only 42% of Americans believe that when their children reach their age, their standard of living will be better. A solid 57% said that in 2018. Since the question was asked in 1994, the previous low was 45% in 1994.

Compared with surveys conducted after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are less likely to report some types of emotional and psychological stress reactions following the COVID-19 outbreak. Fewer report smoking more than usual, crying or feeling dazed now than after those two previous tragedies, though more report having lost their temper or wanting to get drunk.

About twice as many Americans report being lonely today as in 2018, and not surprisingly given the lockdowns that tried to contain the spread of the coronavirus, there’s also been a drop in satisfaction with social activities and relationships. Compared with 2018, Americans also are about twice as likely to say they sometimes or often have felt a lack of companionship (45% vs. 27%) and felt left out (37% vs. 18%) in the past four weeks.

The new poll found that there haven't been significant changes in Americans’ assessment of their families' finances since 2018 and that Americans' satisfaction with their families’ ability to get along financially was as high as it's been over nearly five decades.

A separate poll showed national pride was also at a historic low in the US amid the devastating pandemic and nationwide protests over police brutality and racism. 

"For about two decades, 3 in 10 Americans said that, taken all together, they are very happy. In 2020, the number of people who say they are very happy hit a historical low of 14%, a 17 percentage-point drop since 2018," the survey said. "The percentage of people who described themselves as not too happy also spiked to an all-time high since the question was first asked in 1972."

The study found that more Americans felt depressed now than they did after the 9/11 terror attacks (38% of respondents versus 33%). 

About 50% of respondents said they felt isolated at least sometimes in the past four weeks, compared with about 23% who said the same in 2018. 

With the US as the center of the coronavirus pandemic, and racism and police brutality prompting condemnation from the UN and demonstrations in countries across the world, it may also come as no big shock that patriotism has taken a hit in 2020 as well. 

A new Gallup poll found that national pride was at a record low. Though most respondents said they were "extremely proud" (42%) or "very proud" (21%) to be American, both readings mark the lowest Gallup has recorded since it began polling on this issue in 2001. 

Gallup said the poll took place from May 28 to June 4, a period in which the country was reacting to the killing of George Floyd and the nationwide protests catalyzed by it, as well as President Donald Trump's controversial responses to these developments.  

While Republicans have historically been more likely to say they're extremely proud to be American, Gallup found that even this group had lost a sense of national pride. The latest poll found a 9 percentage-point decrease.

The poll also showed that the share of white American respondents who expressed extreme pride in the nation had fallen below 50% for the first time (down to 49%), alongside a massive drop in the percentage of nonwhites who said the same: from 36% in 2019 to 24% in 2020. 

                                                               R K Bhatti