{"id":197309,"date":"2025-01-16T09:55:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T14:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=197309"},"modified":"2025-11-11T16:32:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:32:59","slug":"emotional-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/emotional-well-being\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Emotional well-being"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To better understand Americans\u2019 well-being, we asked U.S. adults how often they feel <em>lonely or isolated <\/em>from those around them and how often they feel <em>optimistic about their lives<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-200-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=197348\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9eceb\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9eceb;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_1-01.png?resize=400,1408 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"704\" width=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_1-01.png?w=200\" alt=\"Chart shows Adults under 50 are more likely than older adults to feel lonely\" class=\"wp-image-197348 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;how-often-do-americans-feel-lonely&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-often-do-americans-feel-lonely\">How often do Americans feel lonely?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are differences across demographic groups in the shares saying they feel lonely or isolated all or most of the time. The following groups are among the most likely to say they often feel this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=197349\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d6dfdd\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d6dfdd;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_1-02.png?resize=480,1013 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_1-02.png?resize=620,1308 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"654\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_1-02.png?w=310\" alt=\"Chart shows Married adults, those with at least a bachelor\u2019s degree and those with upper incomes are among the most optimistic\" class=\"wp-image-197349 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adults younger than 50<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adults with some college or less education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower-income Americans<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adults who are unpartnered or living with a partner they\u2019re not married to<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no significant difference between the shares of men and women saying they often feel lonely or isolated. This remains true across all age groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;how-often-do-americans-feel-optimistic&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"how-often-do-americans-feel-optimistic\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How often do Americans feel optimistic?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of adults (58%) say they feel optimistic about their life all or most of the time, while 32% say they feel this way sometimes<em>. <\/em>One-in-ten say they hardly ever or never feel optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As is the case with feelings of loneliness, the shares saying they often feel optimistic vary by age, education, income and marital status. For the most part, the patterns are the opposite of what we see with loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These groups are among the most likely to say they feel optimistic all or most of the time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adults ages 50 and older<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adults with a bachelor\u2019s degree or more education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Upper-income adults<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Married adults<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To better understand Americans\u2019 well-being, we asked U.S. adults how often they feel lonely or isolated from those around them and how often they feel optimistic about their lives. How often do Americans feel lonely? There are differences across demographic groups in the shares saying they feel lonely or isolated all or most of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[31,231,30,369,223],"tags":[],"bylines":[559,943],"collection":[],"datasets":[2845],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[519],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-197309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships","category-friendships","category-gender-lgbtq","category-happiness-life-satisfaction","category-marriage-divorce","bylines-isabel-goddard","bylines-kim-parker","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-154","formats-report","research-teams-social-trends"],"label":false,"post_parent":197305,"word_count":236,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/emotional-well-being\/","art_direction":{"A2":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A1":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":197479,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_24.01.16_Masculinity2_Feature.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"(Maskot\/Getty Images)","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":197305,"title":"Men, Women and Social Connections","slug":"men-women-and-social-connections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/men-women-and-social-connections\/","is_active":false},{"id":197309,"title":"1. Emotional well-being","slug":"emotional-well-being","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/emotional-well-being\/","is_active":true},{"id":197315,"title":"2. Where men and women turn for emotional support and social connection","slug":"where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection\/","is_active":false},{"id":197321,"title":"3. The impact of all-male and all-female social groups","slug":"the-impact-of-all-male-and-all-female-social-groups","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/the-impact-of-all-male-and-all-female-social-groups\/","is_active":false},{"id":197326,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"social-connections-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/social-connections-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false},{"id":197331,"title":"Methodology","slug":"social-connections-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/social-connections-methodology\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":[{"key":"_9ei9q50lu","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2024.1.16_social-connections_REPORT.pdf","label":"Report PDF","icon":"","attachmentId":197513},{"key":"_oco7ktm4p","type":"questionnaire","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_questionnaire.pdf","label":"Questionnaire","attachmentId":197389},{"key":"_rt9yuoqn3","type":"topline","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/01\/ST_2025.1.16_social-connections_topline.pdf","label":"Topline","attachmentId":197390},{"type":"dataset","id":2845,"label":"American Trends Panel Wave 154","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/dataset\/american-trends-panel-wave-154\/"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":197309,"title":"1. Emotional well-being","slug":"emotional-well-being","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/emotional-well-being\/","is_active":true,"page_num":2},"next_post":{"id":197315,"title":"2. Where men and women turn for emotional support and social connection","slug":"where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},"previous_post":{"id":197305,"title":"Men, Women and Social Connections","slug":"men-women-and-social-connections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/men-women-and-social-connections\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},"pagination_items":[{"id":197305,"title":"Men, Women and Social Connections","slug":"men-women-and-social-connections","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/men-women-and-social-connections\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":197309,"title":"1. Emotional well-being","slug":"emotional-well-being","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/emotional-well-being\/","is_active":true,"page_num":2},{"id":197315,"title":"2. Where men and women turn for emotional support and social connection","slug":"where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/where-men-and-women-turn-for-emotional-support-and-social-connection\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},{"id":197321,"title":"3. The impact of all-male and all-female social groups","slug":"the-impact-of-all-male-and-all-female-social-groups","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/the-impact-of-all-male-and-all-female-social-groups\/","is_active":false,"page_num":4},{"id":197326,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"social-connections-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/social-connections-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false,"page_num":5},{"id":197331,"title":"Methodology","slug":"social-connections-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2025\/01\/16\/social-connections-methodology\/","is_active":false,"page_num":6}]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Men, Women and Social Connections","parent_id":197305},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"How often do Americans feel lonely, optimistic?","description":"Adults younger than 50 and lower-income Americans are among the groups most likely to say they often feel lonely or isolated.","og_title":"1. 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