A new Gallup poll shows a disturbing trend: Younger people are getting increasingly unhappy, and now less than half of Gen Z say they are actually “thriving,” with the biggest decline happening after 2019.

Meanwhile, for baby boomers, it’s just the opposite (more on that below).

A look at the numbers shows only 44% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they are “thriving” so far in 2026, which is on pace to be 20 percentage points lower than the high of 64% measured in 2010, according to Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index poll .

A closer look at the data shows self-reported happiness started declining modestly in the 2010s, down to 57%, but took a real nosedive after 2019, plummeting to just 39%.

Why is that?…