In Case You Haven't Heard…

People in the United States are more unhappy today than they've been in nearly 50 years. A COVID Response Tracking study, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, finds that just 14% of American adults say they're very happy, down from 31% who said the same in 2018. That year, 23% said they'd often or sometimes felt isolated in recent weeks. Now, 50% say that, ABC News reported June 15. The survey, conducted in late May, draws on nearly a half‐century of research from the General Social Survey, which has collected data on American attitudes and behaviors at least every other year since 1972. Most of the new survey's interviews were completed before the death of George Floyd touched off nationwide protests and a global conversation about race and police brutality, adding to the feelings of stress and loneliness Americans were already facing from the COVID‐19 outbreak — especially for black Americans. Compared with surveys conducted after President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are less likely to report some types of emotional and psychological stress reactions following the COVID‐19 outbreak.