Colson Combs
LANG 120
Mar 15, 2022
Annotated Bibliography
Enten, Harry. “American happiness hits record lows.” CNN Politics, Warner Media, 2/2/2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/politics/unhappiness-americans-gallup-analysis/index.html.
This text discusses the self-reported results of several surveys which have found that happiness is decreasing in the United States. It touches on results from Gallup’s January 2022 “Mood of the Nation” poll, the General Social Survey, a Marist College poll, a Monmouth University poll, and more Gallup results. It describes the sorry state of American happiness according to these polls and dissects in detail their results.
This is a quality source and readers should trust it because it comes from a widely-read publication, is well-rated on the Ad-Fontes Media Bias Chart, and supports itself using several well-cited and widely known surveys. Its author is a Senior Data Reporter for CNN and previously wrote for The Guardian and FiveThirtyEight, which is well-regarded according to Media Bias/Fact Check. Though the source is credible and includes mostly quality information, there are some reasons that audiences should read this source critically. First, its author wrote for The Guardian, which is given “medium credibility” by the Media Bias/Fact Check website. Second, it uses some interpretive and emotional language that summarizes and puts an emotional spin on some of the results it discusses. Third, it references two university polls that used relatively small sample sizes, with each having near 1,000 participants. Still, the source’s inclusion of the larger Gallup poll results and the General Social Survey combined with its transparent analysis of the data make it a usable and worthwhile source.
Ingraham, Christopher. “Americans are becoming less happy, and there’s research to prove it.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3/23/2019, https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-americans-less-happy-20190323-story.html.
This article explores statistics provided by the General Social Survey describing the self-reported overall decline in happiness in Americans in the last several decades. The article summarizes the data, providing expert interpretations as to why certain statistics are appearing in the ways that they are. The survey explores the roles of digital media, health, political alignment, religiosity, race and economics while briefly digressing on the importance of basing our measurements of quality of life on more than GDP and other impersonal indicators.
This is a reliable, quality source. Readers should trust the information that it provides because the article is published in a very reputable, recognizable and well-regarded news source. The article was written by Christopher Ingraham, a data analyst and reporter who has written for the LA Times and wrote for the Washington Post for seven years. It cites the World Happiness Report, which Gallup has reported favorably on, and the General Social Survey, which has been conducted for fifty years by the University-of-Chicago-associated nonprofit research organization NORC. It also hyperlinks to other relevant sources. It is written for public audiences. This paragraph excerpted from the article shows the sophisticated ways in which the author uses data throughout the article and lends credibility to what he is communicating:
On a scale of 1 to 3, where 1 represents “not too happy” and 3 means “very happy,” Americans on average give themselves a 2.18 — just a hair above “pretty happy.” That’s a significant decline from the nation’s peak happiness, as measured by the survey, of the early 1990s (Ingraham).
Nysom, Ida Lautrup. “What’s the Secret Behind Nordic Happiness?” The Nordics, janiecbros, Nordic Council of Ministers, https://www.thenordics.com/trace/whats-secret-behind-nordic-happiness.
Published by the Nordic Council of Ministers, this article cites various pieces of research on happiness and reflects on the success of the Nordic countries in being happy. It considers various hypotheses as to why Nordic people are statistically so happy and discusses the ways in which aspects of Nordic culture that lead to happiness can be applied in other, less statistically happy nations. It asks more questions than it answers, but in doing so provides valuable insights as to why northern nations seem more satisfied than others. Some of the theories posed are that Nordic happiness is caused by excellent parental leave policies, improved unity in combating nasty weather, and trust in institutions (Nysom).
This article is a quality source, and readers should trust it because it is well-supported by other frequently cited research, asks questions and pushes a conversation rather than an agenda, and is sponsored by a government agency. On its website, The Nordics details the ways in which it is interested in highlighting the beneficial aspects of Norse life without pushing an ethos or vision. It claims simply to be attempting to do its part in promoting global happiness. The article is written with a noteworthy transparency which is highlighted when the author acknowledges words from the 2020 World Happiness Report that describes how the happiness traits shown in Norse countries need not be unique to those countries and are accessible by all people and cultures.
Potts, Monica. “Are Americans Unhappy?” FiveThirtyEight, Graphs by World Happiness Report and Gallup, ABC News Internet Ventures, 3/28/2022, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/are-americans-unhappy/.
This source elaborates on data from a variety of sources that describes the state of American Happiness and discusses the effects that a number of areas of life have had on happiness in the United States over the last several years. The article is supported by data from polls and surveys as well as interviews with therapists, sociologists, psychologists and other mental health experts. It finds that, defying expectation, Americans are doing relatively well in this unprecedented time (Potts). It also includes a number of interesting facets of recent findings and observations by the experts interviewed. According to a 2022 Gallup poll and polling over time, Americans consistently perceive themselves as much happier than they are satisfied with the trajectory of the United States (Potts). According to marriage and family therapist Leah Seeger, people are able to adapt their happiness surprisingly well to match their surroundings, but this adaptation should only be temporary and we should not permanently lower our standards of satisfaction (Potts). Another researcher, John Helliwell, reiterated the necessity of conscientiousness and compassion for others in finding personal happiness (Potts). His points were supported by Emily Fasten, who writes that “There is this really deep messaging in our country … around, ‘I should be happy alone. I should be happy on my own. And If I’m not happy on my own, I need to do more work to be able to be happy on my own….’” She goes on to say that this is not correct. The article concludes on the sentiment that personal lives and larger events are intertwined and that American happiness is currently very dependent on national events (Potts).
This is a credible, quality source from FiveThirtyEight, a reputable data reporting website that is well-regarded by the Media Bias/Fact Check website. It is written by Monica Potts, a thoroughly experienced journalist and writer who, according to her website, has written for a wide spectrum of media outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The American Prospect, New York magazine, Vogue.com, The Daily Beast, and The Trace. It cites varied research and uses well-sourced anecdotes to support its points.
Helliwell, John F. et. al. “Happiness, benevolence, and trust during COVID-19 and beyond.” World Happiness Report, 26 people, WHR 2022, Chapter 2, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 3/18/2022, https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/happiness-benevolence-and-trust-during-covid-19-and-beyond/.
This chapter of the World Happiness Report 2022 is an in-depth and scholarly work that provides a detailed analysis of Gallup poll findings from the last year and reflects on how the state of global happiness has changed over time. It finds that the Norse countries have continued to excel in happiness when compared to other countries, and that the wider state of happiness has not changed much throughout the pandemic. They also show that people have been slowly getting less happy over time and that altruistic tendencies have been decreasing around the world. Inequality in quality of life is growing more striking. Finally, people began exhibiting an extraordinary number of prosocial behaviors in 2021 (Helliwell et. al).
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