Mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha. When the Hebrew month of Adar comes it is said that we increase our joy in the lead up to the delights of Purim.

This makes it an opportune time to discuss happiness and what we can do to ensure that our young people are experiencing this in abundance. 

Until recently, consistent research into satisfaction levels over the course of a lifetime, designated childhood as a time of peak happiness that tended to be followed by a dip during adolescence which plateaued over adulthood and then rocketed back up in senior years.

This was part of the rationale for the introduction of middle schooling models where schools tried to respond to the disengagement that can occur in early adolescence and attempted to adopt models of education that worked with the developmental flow that occurs at this stage. Provision of opportunities to align social experiences with learning growth, hands-on learning activities that provide real world applications and understanding teachers who maintain high expectations in a non-confrontational environment are all features of a successful model.

However, there has been a recent proliferation of research that challenges the assumptions regarding the peaks and troughs in our stages of happiness. A recent article reported in The Guardian explored the findings of a UN commissioned report which detailed the declining levels of happiness in six English-speaking countries – Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The results of this report which was published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, were alarming. They suggested that “the U-shape in wellbeing by age that used to exist in these countries is now gone, replaced by a crisis in wellbeing among the young.” 

Findings suggested that life satisfaction and happiness were in decline among young people and particularly so among young women.

Speculation as to the cause of this phenomenon tends to point to a corresponding rise in social media consumption and internet usage. The article suggests that the decline seemed to be noticed in survey data since 2013 and has continued to be seen in the data.

One of the reports’ co-authors, David Blanchflower, pessimistically stated that: “I don’t think there is any doubt you have an absolute global crisis. Young people are in deep disarray and trouble. And the question is what do we do about it? And we don’t know.” 

In my view, while Blanchflower is right to express alarm at this phenomenon, it is unhelpful to suggest that we do not know what to do. There has been much written about the necessity to pare back young people’s social media usage and excellent work is being done to educate parents and institute systems that support this goal. 

Further, I believe that the established understanding of what leads to wellbeing is what is required to truly arrest this slump. Once we account for the basic sustenance needs of food, shelter and health, then we can identify that identity, belonging and purpose are the keys to human thriving.

We owe it to our young people to help them establish who they are, to connect them with their community and to empower them with the skills, knowledge and desire to make a positive impact.

Interestingly, the four mitzvot of Purim correspond to these needs: listening to the Megillah where we learn of Esther’s embracing of her true identity; giving to the needy (purpose); giving food packages to our family and friends (belonging); and celebrating with a communal feast (belonging again).

This Adar, as we progressively intensify our happiness, may this provide a model for our young people to learn to thrive through embracing rich and fulfilling lives. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Marc Light