- 2 days ago
The Modern "Happiness Crash": Why Faith & Marriage Are the Missing Solution." Are people happier today with all of our modern conveniences? Recent studies show the exact opposite. We are currently witnessing a dramatic "happiness crash," particularly among young adults. In this episode of the Bible News Prophecy Program, host Steve Dupuie and Dr. Bob Thiel, Ph.D., explore the root causes of modern loneliness, the impact of digital distraction, and what scientific research and the Bible reveal about achieving true, lasting joy. The Bible and secular research point to those who are married and involved in religion are happier than their secular and married counterparts.
In This Video, You’ll Discover:
The "Happiness Crash": Why reports of unhappiness have more than doubled among adults aged 20–35 since the year 2000.
The Cost of Digital Isolation: How smartphones, social media, and virtual interactions have crowded out face-to-face relationships and increased health risks.
The Two Shields Against Loneliness: Why statistical data shows that strong marriages and regular religious practice offer the highest levels of personal satisfaction and emotional well-being.
The Myth of Career & Wealth: What the world’s longest scientific study on happiness reveals about the limits of money, self-focused careers, and modern cultural trends.
What the Bible Says About Joy: Key biblical principles from Genesis, Proverbs, and Psalms on marriage, community, wisdom, and keeping God’s ways for a truly abundant life.
In This Video, You’ll Discover:
The "Happiness Crash": Why reports of unhappiness have more than doubled among adults aged 20–35 since the year 2000.
The Cost of Digital Isolation: How smartphones, social media, and virtual interactions have crowded out face-to-face relationships and increased health risks.
The Two Shields Against Loneliness: Why statistical data shows that strong marriages and regular religious practice offer the highest levels of personal satisfaction and emotional well-being.
The Myth of Career & Wealth: What the world’s longest scientific study on happiness reveals about the limits of money, self-focused careers, and modern cultural trends.
What the Bible Says About Joy: Key biblical principles from Genesis, Proverbs, and Psalms on marriage, community, wisdom, and keeping God’s ways for a truly abundant life.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:04Greetings, friends. This is Steve Dupuy for the Bible News Prophecy Program with Dr. Bob Thiel,
00:10bringing you news and analysis of world events in light of Bible prophecy.
00:15Dr. Thiel, are people happier today?
00:19Well, you know, think with all these modern conveniences we have, you'd think so,
00:23but instead, in a lot of ways, they're not.
00:25Now, the Institute of Family Studies released something about this.
00:30Articles titled, The Happiness Crash, As Young Adult Happiness Drops, Two Groups Were Thriving.
00:37Then they referred to Brigham Young University psychologist, Julian Holt-Lunstad.
00:44She found that social isolation raised the risk of early death by 29%, loneliness by 26%, and living alone by
00:5232%.
00:54Those numbers are amazing.
00:56How did she come up with those statistics?
01:00Well, the study pointed out that even though science couldn't be clear about social isolation's devastating toil,
01:07we've been running a new experiment with unwitting subjects as young adults who grew up in the midst of the
01:13digital revolution,
01:14with smartphones and social media, not to mention gaming, pornography, and AI chatbots.
01:21This is crowded out face-to-face conversations, socializing the community.
01:26Socializing among young men and women is down more than 50% from 12 hours to 5 hours per week.
01:33Instead, they're spending an average of 3 hours a day on social media, interacting in the virtual world.
01:41And while you might be tempted to call this socializing, as if posting selfies and commenting on strangers' posts, etc.,
01:49beats the deep human need for real relationships, researchers have documented this is simply not the case.
02:00The fruits of this seem to include anxiety, depression, and antisocial behavior, all of which are way up, particularly among
02:07young people.
02:09We're witnessing what one scholar calls a happiness crash.
02:14That's hitting young adults the hardest.
02:16Since the year 2000, reports of unhappiness have more than doubled for men and women aged 20 to 35.
02:27But the news isn't all bad.
02:29Some young men and women are much likely to escape the happiness crash engendered by the digital revolution.
02:37Well, just exactly how are they going to escape?
02:42Well, the Institute for Family Studies put out a report that points to two forms of community that protect people
02:48from isolating currents of modern life.
02:52One is strong marriages, and the other is regular religious practice.
02:56Both institutions, according to the report, have been signal sources of social solidarity,
03:02safeguarding members' physical and emotional well-being, in part by connecting men and women to real relationships with real people.
03:11Faith and family may be especially valuable now that society has become more technologically distracted.
03:18The data bears this out.
03:20Married religious young adults have largely escaped the happiness crash that's engulfed their peers.
03:25According to the General Society, 50% of married religious Americans aged 20 to 35 describe themselves as very happy,
03:33compared to just 16% of their unmarried secular peers.
03:40Marriage alone matters a great deal.
03:4337% of married secular youth are very happy.
03:45But the combination of faith and family appears to be the most powerful.
03:49End quote.
03:51And then there's other studies, by the way, that say aspects of feminism and liberal parenting decrease happiness.
03:58And I probably should add that staying married also tends to increase happiness.
04:04What does the Bible say about being married and happiness?
04:08Well, in Genesis 2.18, God said,
04:12It's not good that a man should be alone.
04:15I will make a helper comparable to him.
04:17In this case, a wife.
04:18And in Proverbs 18, verse 22, the Bible says,
04:24He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
04:31And the book of Ecclesiastes tells us, Ecclesiastes 9, verse 9,
04:36Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life.
04:42Therefore, being married is clearly something God advocates for the happiness of many.
04:47Though, for some, according to the New Testament, it's better for them not to marry.
04:52But what are the results of some of the other studies done on happiness?
04:56Well, the world's longest term study related to happiness suggests that caring for others
05:02and staying married is better than the emptiness associated with a self-focused career.
05:09Here's a headline.
05:11The good life.
05:12Lessons from the world's longest scientific study of happiness.
05:16Quote,
05:17We may be capable of extraordinary feats of intellect and creativity,
05:21but it comes to making decisions about our lives.
05:24We humans are often bad at knowing what's good for us.
05:30It says,
05:32This may seem obvious, but too many short-term indulgences lead to long-term misery.
05:37But there's less obvious reasons that Americans are confused
05:41how to achieve a certain level of personal satisfaction and well-being.
05:46Because there's cultural and political messages pushing them into areas that are often less fulfilling.
05:52There's a lot of conventional wisdom in this, the good life.
05:57It says,
05:57A lot of people often think that more money is going to make them happier.
06:00But in fact, there's little evidence this is true, at least past a certain point.
06:05Quote,
06:06We are resilient, industrious, creative creatures who can survive incredible hardship,
06:11laugh our way through tough times, and come out stronger on the other end.
06:16But we also get used to better circumstances.
06:19Our emotional well-being cannot improve to infinity.
06:22We settle in.
06:23We tend to take things for granted.
06:26So while it's easy for people to acknowledge that money can't buy happiness,
06:29it's harder for people to believe that great careers can't guarantee personal fulfillment.
06:36This continues with,
06:38It's a paradox of modern liberal attitudes that, on one hand, careers are supposed to provide fulfillment.
06:46All the fulfillment that maybe friends and family used to provide.
06:50But at the same time, menial jobs or jobs that are done by less educated people are considered to be
06:55a burden,
06:56and avoided at all costs.
06:59Public policy seems shaped by this idea.
07:03Debt forgiveness for college graduates so they can go into low-paying, white-collar jobs while eliminating work requirements for
07:09lower classes.
07:10The idea of having a set of responsibilities for supporting other people, whether it's coal mining or caring for one's
07:17children,
07:18and giving life meaning and purpose does not seem to occur to these people.
07:22Instead, careers are simply about freedom, autonomy, and self-fulfillment.
07:28Making money and landing your dream jobs are not predictors of happiness, the authors write.
07:34But the relationships that you have are.
07:39This continues with,
07:41There seems to be a little curiosity about the difference in outcomes for people who grew up in homes with
07:46single parents,
07:46compared to those who have fathers in the home.
07:49They don't seem to make much distinction between marriage and cohabitation,
07:53either in terms of long-term happiness and the security of spouses.
07:58However, the essential point is that close, nurturing units of people that have a formative effect on our lives
08:04can come from a variety of places, including a variety of people, called by a number of things.
08:09What matters is not just who we consider to be a family,
08:12but what our close relationships mean to us over the course of our lives.
08:17And it says,
08:18Well, that's no doubt true on some level, but research on the impact of marriage,
08:22it's not just nurturing units of people, it's quite clear.
08:26It would be surprising if the study didn't show some correlation between two-parent households
08:30and children's happiness and success.
08:33And that's one of the things, the moderns act like it's all the same, and it's simply not.
08:39So, the reality is, a lot of society's experts have things wrong about life and happiness.
08:45Now, everything that the good life authors concluded isn't necessarily accurate,
08:50but they have called out some of the myths of Western societies.
08:54Now, as far as careers go for women, there was a star-studded women's conference that Meg Whitman,
09:01she was a former chief executive officer at eBay, and then later at Hewlett-Packard.
09:07She took the stage, and she opened with a single unexpected line.
09:21According to somebody who was there, she said, you could hear a pin drop.
09:25Other speakers credited hard work, tenacity, timing, and even luck.
09:30But as Whitman spoke, heads around the room started nodding,
09:34as she named something everybody knew, but rarely acknowledged out loud.
09:40And yes, deciding who to marry is very important and more important than any particular job.
09:46But of course, the most important decision you can make, whether male or female,
09:50is to follow God and have the right priorities.
09:54So Jesus taught, Matthew 6, 31,
09:57Therefore, don't worry, verse 33,
10:00but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
10:05And in John 10, 10, Jesus said,
10:09He had come, I says, I've come, that they may have life,
10:12and they may have it more abundantly.
10:16Okay, that's what Jesus came to do.
10:19And one of his disciples, the one he loved,
10:23of course he loved them all,
10:25wrote, 3 John, verse 2,
10:28Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things
10:32and be in health just as your soul prospers.
10:36Who does the Bible say is actually happy?
10:40God's people.
10:41Psalm 146, verse 5.
10:44Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help.
10:49Whose hope is that the Lord is God.
10:52Psalm 144, 15.
10:54Happy are the people who are in such a state.
10:57Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
11:01Now, do you have God of Jacob for your help?
11:04Is the God of the Bible your Lord?
11:06I hope so.
11:07If you really do, you should be happy.
11:12Now, I'd like to go to the book of Proverbs.
11:14It talks about happiness as well.
11:16Proverbs chapter 3.
11:18Start this at verse 13.
11:21Happy is the man who finds wisdom
11:23and the man who gains understanding.
11:27Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
11:30All her paths are peace.
11:32She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her.
11:35And happy are all who retain her.
11:37So, yes, wisdom can bring happiness to all,
11:40males and females.
11:43What would be one way of gaining the wisdom of God?
11:49If people everywhere would obey God's laws,
11:52there would be no war,
11:54no unhappy families,
11:56no divorce,
11:57no crime,
11:59violence,
12:00stealing.
12:01People would be honest
12:02and concerned
12:03for one another's welfare
12:05and property.
12:06People wouldn't be afraid.
12:10Now, consider that
12:12Romans 7, verse 12,
12:14the Apostle Paul wrote,
12:15the law is holy
12:17and the commandment is holy,
12:19just, and good.
12:20He didn't say it's some kind of a burden.
12:23Okay?
12:24It's holy, just, and good.
12:26Now, let's go back to the book of Psalms.
12:27Psalm 37.
12:29Because we're supposed to delight in God's ways.
12:32Starting in verse 3,
12:3437 Psalm.
12:35Trust in the Lord
12:36and do good.
12:38Remember,
12:40providing for others,
12:41helping others,
12:41secular sources said,
12:43in terms of happiness.
12:45Dwell in the land
12:45and feed on his faithfulness.
12:47Delight yourself also in the Lord
12:49and he will give you
12:50the desires of your heart.
12:52And pretty much everybody wants to be happy.
12:55Verse 5.
12:55Commit your way to the Lord.
12:57Trust also in him.
12:59He shall bring it to pass.
13:00A lot of people do not trust God.
13:02They say they do,
13:03but they really don't.
13:05You know,
13:05one of my favorite scriptures
13:06is the book of Proverbs.
13:09Trust the Lord with all your heart.
13:11Lay not to your own understanding.
13:12In all your ways,
13:12acknowledge him
13:13and he'll direct your paths.
13:14But the next verse says,
13:16don't be wise in your own eyes.
13:18Depart from evil.
13:19Okay?
13:20Now,
13:21let's go back to the Psalms.
13:22Psalm 34.
13:24Verse 11.
13:26Come you children,
13:27listen to me.
13:27I'll teach you
13:28the fear of the Lord.
13:29Who is a man who desires life
13:31and loves many days
13:33that he may see good?
13:35Keep your tongue from evil
13:36and your lips
13:37from speaking deceit.
13:38Depart from evil
13:39and do good.
13:41Seek peace
13:42and pursue it.
13:43So what are we supposed to do?
13:45We're supposed to delight
13:47in the Lord
13:48who give you
13:49the proper desires
13:50of your heart
13:50and we're supposed
13:51to do good.
13:53Okay?
13:54If you want to be happy,
13:55that's what you should do.
13:58God's ways are best
13:59and they lead
14:00to true happiness.
14:02Therefore,
14:02true religion
14:03is important for happiness
14:04and for many people,
14:07marriage helps too.
14:09Thank you,
14:10Dr. Thiel.
14:11For more interviews
14:12with Dr. Thiel
14:13in addition to written
14:14as well as audio articles,
14:16visit our website
14:16at BibleNewsProphecy.net.
14:18This is Steve Dupuis
14:20for the Bible News Prophecy program.