Overview

• The PLOS One paper led by David Blanchflower combines large UK and US surveys with Global Minds data from about two million respondents across 42+ countries.
• Findings show the traditional U‑shaped life‑satisfaction curve held in 2009–2018 but flipped in 2019–2024, with dissatisfaction peaking in the youngest adults and easing with age.
• Authors and experts cite heavy social‑media use, COVID‑era restrictions, and lingering labor‑market effects from the financial crisis as leading hypotheses for the shift.
• Multiple experts report especially steep declines among girls and young women, linking social networks to intensified comparison, sexualization, and online victimization.
• National data align with the trend—Germany’s RKI reports nearly 40% of 18–29‑year‑olds with low well‑being—while scholars warn cohort effects and other confounders leave the change’s permanence uncertain.