Harry Geels: Why the feeling of happiness is diminishing
This column was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.
By Harry Geels
A few weeks ago, the World Happiness Report (WHR) 2025 was published. The Netherlands is ranked fifth on the list of happiest countries. Although the measurement is flawed, one conclusion in particular stands out: the feeling of happiness is on a downward trend. Why is that? And what exactly is happiness?
Every year, Gallup measures the happiness people experience in 150 countries on a scale between 1 ('worst possible life') and 10 ('best possible life'). The subjective 'well-being' is then classified and supplemented with analyses, after which a beautiful report is published that finds its way into all kinds of media. So far, so good, it seems. Yet something is amiss. On the one hand because Gallup's measurement method seems flawed, and on the other hand because one striking trend, the decline in our sense of happiness, is not sufficiently explained.
Inadequate measurement
There is a lot of criticism to be leveled at the method used to measure happiness. Firstly, because happiness is a multidimensional concept. Secondly, because there is no universal definition of happiness. The problem with Gallup's measurement is that only a thousand people per country are surveyed (which statistically speaking says little, especially about large countries with a lot of social diversity). Furthermore, no account is taken of local differences, such as the cultural tendency to give socially accepted answers or not.
In addition, there is a heavy weighting on economic factors: GDP per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make one's own decisions, donations to charities and the perception of corruption. To compensate for the 'economic' one-sidedness of the happiness measurement, the WHR also measures what is known as benevolence. This is partly based on other factors, such as the degree to which strangers are helped and lost wallets are returned. There appears to be a reasonably large correlation between happiness and benevolence.
Decreasing sense of happiness
Despite the ifs and buts behind the measurement, the report shows a number of interesting developments. One striking trend is the declining sense of happiness compared to a few decades ago, especially in the US (see Figure 1). The WHR gives roughly two possible causal links to this, namely that more and more people are withdrawing from social life (they live more on their own and/or in the digital world) and that people have less trust in other people and institutions (see Figure 2).
Figure 1: Happiness in the US and Europe (2006-23)
Figure 2: Trust in others in the US and Europe (2006-23)
It is further suggested that the declining sense of happiness is related to the increasing populism (both on the left and right of the political spectrum) also observed in the WHR. A month ago I wrote a column entitled Five causes of rise of conservative populism, in which I 'coincidentally' also mention these two causes (thanks, Gallup, for the further substantiation). In this column I also mention social media and the internet. These facilitate antisocial behavior and the often negatively interpreted comparison with others.
Happiness is a multidimensional concept
As mentioned, happiness is difficult to measure. Gallup has made its own, by definition flawed, measurement. If we include the number of people suffering from depression, for example, measured by the extent to which anti-depressants are prescribed, burn-outs or suicides, there may be other outcomes. These indicators are relatively high in many 'happy' countries. The problem is mainly also in the fact that happiness is not well defined universally and everyone can have or use a different meaning or definition.
It is not for nothing that the Greek philosophers already made a distinction between hedonistic and eudaimonic forms of happiness. The first are fleeting (such as food, drink, drugs and sex), the second are permanent (such as being part of a group or having a calling). In My Little Book on the Philosophy of Life, I even distinguish six forms of happiness based on the six layers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I also claim that happiness is primarily a 'mindset'. If someone does not compare themselves to others, for example, they cannot feel ugly or poor.
Eating together
I was pleasantly surprised to read in chapter 3 of the WHR that sharing meals with others promotes happiness. Apart from the aforementioned measurement problems, this seems like a completely logical finding in my model of happiness. As Gallup proposes (food + others), two forms of happiness from the Maslow pyramid are satisfied: the physical (food) and the social (with others). If that can also be accompanied by a good conversation (for example about a book or movie) in a safe environment, even more forms of happiness are satisfied.
Figure 3: Eating together and appreciation of life in the world (2022-23)
This article contains the personal opinion of Harry Geels