Announcing The Age Of Optimism

At the beginning of the year, I asked many of my friends two questions:

1. What was one good thing that happened to them personally in 2023?

2. What was one good thing that happened in the wider world?

Fortunately, my friends were largely able to identify positives in their personal lives, such as fulfilling relationships, exciting new jobs, or travel. When it came to the wider world, several people mentioned progress on climate change, and a few mentioned the joy of going to movies in person again. However, in general, it seemed much more difficult for them to identify a single good thing that had happened globally.

This difficulty is unsurprisingly not unique to my friends—a group mostly made up of highly educated people who are either gainfully employed or getting advanced degrees—but true of Americans across demographics. And it is most striking among young Americans, who are the most pessimistic of any age group on issues like the economy—only 9% of 18-29 year olds say the economy is excellent or good—and the future of the United States, with just 53% of 18-34 year olds confident in the US’ future. This is at an age that is often associated with joy, opportunity, and excitement about the future.

In addition, the current cohort of young people is more pessimistic than previous generations were at that age. Jean Twenge, a psychologist and San Diego State University professor who wrote a book on generational differences, found that Gen Z 12th graders are more likely to say it’s “hard to have hope for the world” and that they “wonder if there is a purpose to life given the world situation” compared to any previous cohort of 12th graders over the past 50 years.

Yet, young Americans are growing up in a world that is undoubtedly better than ever before, with sharp declines in poverty and child mortality rates over the past several decades and recent, rapid growth in renewable energy adoption. There have been numerous discussions as to why this disconnect exists, and I don’t feel like I can say anything particularly interesting on the topic. However, the more I’ve spoken with my friends, read the news, and listened to young people, it’s become clear that pessimism is not only a deliberate choice, but also an inevitability when so little of our news is focused on the successes and signs of progress evident in our world today. 

I understand that to be optimistic when there are horrific tragedies happening close to home and around the world is hard, and can feel like ignoring the world’s issues. But I also see optimism as profoundly necessary; if we only focus on the world’s problems without ever highlighting progress, we not only foster apathy, but also fail to learn from and build on our accomplishments to improve the world further. Ignoring these triumphs in the spirit of cynicism will not lead to solutions, but might undo any gains we’ve already made.  

My goal with this project is to highlight the positives, to research and learn about stories of progress that inspire me and to share them. And if anyone chooses to read this and views the world a little more positively because of it, or is inspired to take action on a particular problem, that would be excellent too.