[lariati]

I feel like any nytimes article I read is practically written by an algorithm.

"Since the pandemic began, Americans’ happiness has cratered"

As if this isn't mostly because of the disruption to normal life caused by the pandemic?

To me, there is this small group of very loud social media addicts/writers that would be perfectly happy for this pandemic experience to go on forever since it always provides content to write/post about while basically everyone I know in person is utterly burnt out on the whole experience.

[lokalfarm]

> "Since the pandemic began, Americans’ happiness has cratered" As if this isn't mostly because of the disruption to normal life caused by the pandemic?

I don't think that paints an accurate picture of the situation. Many people (I would say generations) are coming to terms with an increasingly bleak outlook on their future prospects - and that flies in the face with the sort of American exceptionalism & exponential economic growth that characterized the mid-20th century. People have been sold a tale and that just isn't coming true, and what's worse is that these same demographics often feel overshadowed by previous generations, such as the Baby Boomers. Look at the overall makeup of our government these days - the Speaker of the House & our President are the oldest they _have ever been_. It doesn't feel representative. Rent and real estate prices have sky rocketed almost everywhere, and many people (myself included) are giving up hope of ever owning a home. Climate change also looms large.

The pandemic gave many people an opportunity to pause and reevaluate their life and priorities. I'm part of the demographic that entered the workforce during the Recession of 07/08, where I worked shitty fastfood jobs to survive, and I parlayed it into a career in the restaurant business that I aggressively pursued for a decade+. I would rather put a bullet in my head than go work in a kitchen again. Especially running one. I then started a career in the trades because that seemed like the best economic opportunity for someone with limited education, and I got to work through all of 2020 + 2021 because I was 'essential', but yeah, like the article mentioned, it strongly reinforced my status as disposable and meaningless.

The issues are deeper than 'the disruption [of] normal life.'

[giraffe_lady]

> As if this isn't mostly because of the disruption to normal life caused by the pandemic?

If you're talking about NYT writers, or HN commenters, probably accurate on average yes but I wouldn't make too many assumptions.

It is a lot of deaths though. I personally am still carrying grief for people lost in that first year, and I know about a million other american families are too.

I don't know if you're lumping those deaths in with "disruption to normal life" because yes sure they are but they are definitely still impacting my happiness a lot more than wearing a mask at the gym or whatever!