Connecting with others: How social connections improve the happiness of young adults

Rui Pei and Jamil Zaki

Abstract

Young adults across the globe face increasing mental health challenges. Once considered one of the happiest phases of life, young adulthood has taken a troubling turn.Young people in North America and Western Europe now report the lowest wellbeing among all age groups. In fact, World Happiness Report 2024 found that the fall in the United States’ happiness ranking was largely due to a precipitous decline in wellbeing among Americans under 30.

This chapter centres on a key idea that illuminates the problem of low wellbeing among young adults and potential ways to reverse it: happiness is fundamentally social. Across cultures and generations, supportive relationships buoy mental health and happiness. Social ties also buffer people from the toxic effects of stress, reducing the risk that subclinical difficulties will escalate into mood disorders.

The World Happiness Report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in partnership with Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an independent editorial board.

Any views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation, agency, or program of the United Nations.