For decades, an idea was repeated in lectures, columns and self-help books: happiness followed a U-shaped curve. Life started out enthusiastically, hit rock bottom about halfway through – between ages 45 and 50 – and then crept back up slowly over time. But a new study published in PLOS ONE suggests that this model may be obsolete. The famous “happiness curve” seems to have suffered a distortion.
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Today, the data paints a different picture: Young people report more stress, anxiety and agitation than previous generations, while older people remain stable or even more satisfied. In other words, happiness no longer peaks at age 50. It doesn’t even follow a predictable curve.
The curve that defined decades of research
The idea of the “U-shaped curve” comes from numerous studies carried out since the 2000s, based on large international surveys on subjective well-being. British economist David Blanchflower was one of the first to demonstrate that life satisfaction tends to decline after age 30, reaches its lowest point between ages 45 and 50, and then begins to increase again in old age.
The pattern seemed clear and universal: in different countries, with different methodologies, the same pattern was repeated. People spoke of the “midlife crisis” as an almost biological phenomenon. It was said that the weight of responsibilities, raising children, debts or lack of time explained this emotional decline. And that once the storm passed, serenity would arrive: less ambition, more acceptance, less stress. For years, this curve served as an emotional compass and even a source of comfort: If you were in your 40s and feeling lost, the statistics promised that things would soon improve.
According to a recent study by Blanchflower and his team, published in PLOS ONE in 2025, subjective well-being no longer follows the classic U-shaped curve that has characterized decades of research. By analyzing data from more than a million people in more than 150 countries, the authors observed that psychological suffering – anxiety, sadness, lack of purpose – tends to decline steadily with age, without the “rebound” in happiness previously observed after age 50. In other words, today’s young people report more unhappiness than older adults.
The study also shows that this trend has intensified from 2017: the group under 30 is the one that has experienced the greatest decline in well-being, particularly young women. Researchers describe this as a structural change in contemporary emotional experience, possibly linked to increased stress, job insecurity, loneliness, constant exposure to social media and economic uncertainty.
On the other hand, older generations seem to experience more stable well-being. This is not due to the euphoria of old age, but rather to greater emotional balance and less pressure to meet external expectations. The result, the authors conclude, is a world in which happiness no longer takes the form of a curve, but rather a line that gradually rises with age.
What could change?
Well-being psychology presents a fascinating problem: it measures not only emotions but also perceptions. What each generation considers “happiness” changes. If today’s young people have grown up in a hyperconnected, competitive and anxious environment, their level of satisfaction has also transformed.
— It’s no longer a question of fifty-year-olds being happier, but rather that today’s young people are in a worse situation than before — explains Blanchflower.
In this sense, the curve does not disappear: it is deformed. Some experts also warn of the biases inherent in cross-sectional studies. Comparing people of different ages at one point in time is not the same as following the same people throughout their lives. The trend nevertheless remains constant: the well-being of young people is decreasing, while that of older people remains stable or increases slightly.
The change is not just statistical: it is also cultural. The “midlife crisis” has become a recurring theme, but the real crisis seems to have shifted to the 20s and 30s. Anxiety, uncertainty and fatigue are increasingly discussed.
What is interesting – and encouraging – is that today’s seniors seem to be regaining more solid well-being. Not necessarily euphoric, but stable, aware and connected to real relationships. Perhaps, as the study concludes, happiness no longer follows a biological curve, but rather a social one. And this curve, like everything that happens these days, changes shape.
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