The Age of Meh

Netflix, iPhones, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Frozen, Candy Crush, Pinterest, iPads, Breaking Bad, a new Marvel Superhero film every 6 months, Kate Upton’s rack, in-flight WiFi, The Book of Mormon, America contends for the World Cup, a black guy is President, a woman runs the Federal Reserve, Elon Musk is a real-life Tony Stark, gay marriage legalized, weed decriminalized, the new Batman trilogy, Uber, the Eagles are touring again, Game of Thrones, Daft Punk’s breakthrough, 50 Shades of Grey, all-time highs in the stock market, record household wealth, Jennifer Lawrence, Zach Galifiankis, LeBron, Arcade Fire and Chipotle.

What the f*** else do you people need to be happy?

PRINCETON, NJ — Twenty-two percent of Americans are satisfied and 76% are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. at this time. Americans’ satisfaction has been quite stable this year, ranging narrowly between 22% and 25%.

The last time a majority of Americans were satisfied with the direction of the country was more than a decade ago, a 55% reading in January 2004. Further, satisfaction has not topped 40% since July 2005, amid a struggling economy, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and declining confidence in government. This period also saw satisfaction sink to an all-time low of 7% in October 2008, shortly after the financial crisis hit.

While satisfaction is higher today than back then, it has only exceeded 30% for two brief stretches since 2008.

Some good stuff has happened, like the above examples – all since the January 2004 “happiness peak” – have we forgotten how to be satisfied?

It’s the Age of Meh.

You probably feel sort of ambivalent about that too.