The United States was rated the 23rd happiest country in the world according to a new report from the United Nations. That’s actually down eight ticks from last year when the U.S. notched the 15th spot. What caused the drop? This isn’t just particular to the U.S., as lower happiness is reported in several English-speaking countries, including Australia. It would seem that the younger folks are the ones dragging the poll downward and based on mental health research from social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and technology researcher Jean Twenge, this isn’t too surprising. Matt Novak writes in Gizmodo,

When you drill down to examine the rankings by generation — age details provided for the first time in this year’s report—the findings in the U.S. become quite stark. Americans aged 10-29 were ranked 62nd among all countries on the happiness scale, far behind their young counterparts in places like Lithuania (1st), Israel (2nd), and Serbia (3rd).

Deeply Unhappy Gen Z and Millennials Cause U.S. to Drop in Global Happiness Ranking (msn.com)

Increases in loneliness tell part of the story, along with overall decline in social cohesion and, particularly for Gen Z, meteoric increases in internet and social media use.

But what genuinely constitutes happiness? And by happiness, I mean more than entertainment and pleasure. Happiness is an overall sense of wellbeing, peace, and confidence in the goodness of life. Arthur Brooks, who writes weekly on the topic of happiness, mentions four necessary “ingredients” to get us to the happy place: faith, family, friends, and work. Having a sense of ultimate purpose, found in religion and an awareness of transcendent reality, gives people something to aim for in life. In addition, the relational richness of friends and family is undoubtedly indispensable to a happy life, and yet how many Americans can boast of this today? In addition, as articulated astutely by David Bahnsen in his book Full Time, having meaningful work lends itself to greater happiness. Without being able to work, or by refusing to work, many people wonder what their purpose is, and therefore feel useless and without guidance in life.