This story shows an important trend, but I’m not sure it hits the nail on the head. It turns out that young people in the developed world report less happiness than those in the developing world.

The story seems to just imply that developed-world teens and young adults just don’t appreciate what they have, and that’s true. “[A] lack of optimism, concern over jobs and pressure to succeed” are not reasons First World young people should be worried, but apparently they are.

But I think the bigger picture, only hinted at in the article, is that there’s a frame of reference people base their happiness on. For example, within the U.S., richer people report being happier than poorer ones. Americans do appreciate what they have — relative to other Americans.

People in the developing world see that, compared to the way things are now, and compared to the way their parents grew up, they’ll have it pretty easy. By their frame of reference, things are great. I’d argue those facts hold in America as well, but that it’s not nearly as apparent; many parents expect their kids to be worse off than they are, even though things are getting better in reality.

On a side note, this passage from the article is hilarious:

“Developed countries were particularly pessimistic about globalization, with 95 percent of young Germans thinking it is ruining their culture, while developing countries which tended to be more receptive to globalization were also more optimistic about their economic future and more proud of their nationality.”

Even if the Germans are being stupid about it, it’s great that people in countries where economic development is most important are most receptive.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.