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| What makes us happy? Family, future dreams and lying half-naked in a park | What makes us happy? Family, future dreams and lying half-naked in a park |
| (9 months later) | |
| Tasha Onwuemezi, 19, student: 'The sun helps, along with great books and lots of partying' | Tasha Onwuemezi, 19, student: 'The sun helps, along with great books and lots of partying' |
| Despite popular opinion regarding the degenerate youth who roam Britain's streets looking for fights and throwing up everywhere, it appears that teenagers are, in fact, the happiest people in the country. | Despite popular opinion regarding the degenerate youth who roam Britain's streets looking for fights and throwing up everywhere, it appears that teenagers are, in fact, the happiest people in the country. |
| Don't get me wrong, a high percentage of my weekly yield of happiness is made up by fighting and throwing up everywhere, but there are other things that make me happy. | Don't get me wrong, a high percentage of my weekly yield of happiness is made up by fighting and throwing up everywhere, but there are other things that make me happy. |
| The guest appearances of the sun is one – but one which also causes mass upheaval to any student's schedule. Anything and everything must be done half-naked and while frolicking in the park. Even revision. Especially revision. Unless, of course, you're a first-year English student and you don't have any exams. | The guest appearances of the sun is one – but one which also causes mass upheaval to any student's schedule. Anything and everything must be done half-naked and while frolicking in the park. Even revision. Especially revision. Unless, of course, you're a first-year English student and you don't have any exams. |
| This, along with only eight hours' contact time a week with tutors, means I am able spend the majority of my life asleep, and therein lies the root to all happiness. Sadly, it is also the root cause of my flatmates doodling on my face. | This, along with only eight hours' contact time a week with tutors, means I am able spend the majority of my life asleep, and therein lies the root to all happiness. Sadly, it is also the root cause of my flatmates doodling on my face. |
| To be honest, university is probably the best thing about my life right now. I live in Southampton, which is really freaking tiny in comparison to London, but is the perfect size for the drunken exploits of 20,000-odd students. I mean, who actually needs more than five clubs? There's one for every day of the week (not including weekends, those are strictly for rest and recuperation). | To be honest, university is probably the best thing about my life right now. I live in Southampton, which is really freaking tiny in comparison to London, but is the perfect size for the drunken exploits of 20,000-odd students. I mean, who actually needs more than five clubs? There's one for every day of the week (not including weekends, those are strictly for rest and recuperation). |
| And if that isn't enough, I'm studying the best subject to fill those fleeting moments of sobriety and boredom. The English literature course essentially consists of reading (love), talking about what you've read (also love), then, in a caffeine-fuelled daze, scrawling it all down cogently and coherently, the night before your assignment is due (best part). It's an easy life. | And if that isn't enough, I'm studying the best subject to fill those fleeting moments of sobriety and boredom. The English literature course essentially consists of reading (love), talking about what you've read (also love), then, in a caffeine-fuelled daze, scrawling it all down cogently and coherently, the night before your assignment is due (best part). It's an easy life. |
| The happiness index finds that people are happier in smaller towns, although there's something about the constant action of London that teenagers thrive in, despite it costing seven quid for a double. That said, the opportunities to throw amazing teenage house parties do reduce the cost somewhat. | The happiness index finds that people are happier in smaller towns, although there's something about the constant action of London that teenagers thrive in, despite it costing seven quid for a double. That said, the opportunities to throw amazing teenage house parties do reduce the cost somewhat. |
| Being on the cusp of adulthood while the news is plagued with headlines about mass youth unemployment, escalating house prices and the spiralling age for pensions, we should be filled with dread about our futures, but growing up as part of a liberal generation that has witnessed so much change, I'm optimistic about our ability to find solutions to the dire challenges ahead of us. | Being on the cusp of adulthood while the news is plagued with headlines about mass youth unemployment, escalating house prices and the spiralling age for pensions, we should be filled with dread about our futures, but growing up as part of a liberal generation that has witnessed so much change, I'm optimistic about our ability to find solutions to the dire challenges ahead of us. |
| Tasha Onwuemezi | Tasha Onwuemezi |
| Nell McFadden, 85, from Gourock, Scotland: 'I can't feel sorry for myself. I'm aiming for the big 100' | Nell McFadden, 85, from Gourock, Scotland: 'I can't feel sorry for myself. I'm aiming for the big 100' |
| There has never been any excess of money in my life and what there is has been hard-earned. I lived through the hard times of the 1930s and 1940s and when I was married in 1946 there was still food rationing and you needed to get points before you could buy clothes. | There has never been any excess of money in my life and what there is has been hard-earned. I lived through the hard times of the 1930s and 1940s and when I was married in 1946 there was still food rationing and you needed to get points before you could buy clothes. |
| My first husband died of cancer when I was 32 and I was left to bring up three children on my own. In those days you didn't get any help from anyone. I married again and then my second husband died when I was 48. | My first husband died of cancer when I was 32 and I was left to bring up three children on my own. In those days you didn't get any help from anyone. I married again and then my second husband died when I was 48. |
| By that time I had to make something of my life. I went to college and learned typing and got an O-level in English and I got a job with the Ministry of Defence in Coulport and Gourock. I had always wanted to work in an office and I worked until I was retired when I was 60. | By that time I had to make something of my life. I went to college and learned typing and got an O-level in English and I got a job with the Ministry of Defence in Coulport and Gourock. I had always wanted to work in an office and I worked until I was retired when I was 60. |
| I missed work and I fell into depression for about a year. I wouldn't leave the house. I had left myself with nothing useful to do. The doctor said I should "go out and get involved in the community" and I have been doing just that ever since. | I missed work and I fell into depression for about a year. I wouldn't leave the house. I had left myself with nothing useful to do. The doctor said I should "go out and get involved in the community" and I have been doing just that ever since. |
| I started in Oxfam and then I went to a meeting of the Inverclyde Elderly Forum and I have been the chairwoman for the last 24 years. We campaign on health and pensions and anything else. We get our placards and banners out and we make our voice heard. I'm still very active and this is the key to my happiness. | I started in Oxfam and then I went to a meeting of the Inverclyde Elderly Forum and I have been the chairwoman for the last 24 years. We campaign on health and pensions and anything else. We get our placards and banners out and we make our voice heard. I'm still very active and this is the key to my happiness. |
| There's always a fear of crime and we all worry about paying our bills. I now rely on others for transport. You worry about going into care, how you would cope financially and otherwise. But I think it will be worse in the future. I feel sorry for people who will be old after I have gone. There will be so many more of them. | There's always a fear of crime and we all worry about paying our bills. I now rely on others for transport. You worry about going into care, how you would cope financially and otherwise. But I think it will be worse in the future. I feel sorry for people who will be old after I have gone. There will be so many more of them. |
| I have survived two major operations and last year I had a bad fall which has made it difficult for me to walk far. I've dealt with everything that life has to throw at me and I'm a happy survivor. | I have survived two major operations and last year I had a bad fall which has made it difficult for me to walk far. I've dealt with everything that life has to throw at me and I'm a happy survivor. |
| Everybody gets their share of depression. I lost my only brother last year and I was down for a bit. But I can't afford to sit back and feel sorry for myself. I'm aiming for the big 100. | Everybody gets their share of depression. I lost my only brother last year and I was down for a bit. But I can't afford to sit back and feel sorry for myself. I'm aiming for the big 100. |
| I have contributed to everything in this society and I have a right to be here. That makes me happy. I have a loving family and friends, nine great-grandchildren and plenty of nephews and nieces and my community work, that's what keeps me going. | I have contributed to everything in this society and I have a right to be here. That makes me happy. I have a loving family and friends, nine great-grandchildren and plenty of nephews and nieces and my community work, that's what keeps me going. |
| Mike Samra, 39, from London: 'I'm the most content now that I've ever been' | Mike Samra, 39, from London: 'I'm the most content now that I've ever been' |
| I had a very normal upbringing. My parents came from India in the 1950s and both worked in factories, packing boxes. I lived in Swindon, which wasn't very cosmopolitan, but I had a large Indian family around me. I never had to worry about friends, there was always someone to kick a ball with. I remember not going home in the summer until the cricket ball became invisible. | I had a very normal upbringing. My parents came from India in the 1950s and both worked in factories, packing boxes. I lived in Swindon, which wasn't very cosmopolitan, but I had a large Indian family around me. I never had to worry about friends, there was always someone to kick a ball with. I remember not going home in the summer until the cricket ball became invisible. |
| I was aware of racism. I heard about the riots in Brixton and Toxteth and I heard remarks made against me but it didn't bother me. I felt I had every right to be here and I had too many cousins, it would have been foolish to pick on me. | I was aware of racism. I heard about the riots in Brixton and Toxteth and I heard remarks made against me but it didn't bother me. I felt I had every right to be here and I had too many cousins, it would have been foolish to pick on me. |
| From the age of 11 I was very interested in tinkering with computers and programming. No one in my family had been to university and I didn't have a career plan but I went to Cardiff to study computer programming. After being in a very close family environment, it was a place to spread my wings. | From the age of 11 I was very interested in tinkering with computers and programming. No one in my family had been to university and I didn't have a career plan but I went to Cardiff to study computer programming. After being in a very close family environment, it was a place to spread my wings. |
| I saw that education was the key to freedom. Getting a job was relatively easy. I was doing something that I enjoyed which makes things easier. I'm now well established in my career. | I saw that education was the key to freedom. Getting a job was relatively easy. I was doing something that I enjoyed which makes things easier. I'm now well established in my career. |
| I am the most content now that I have been. I have a wife and a career and children. I would not want to be my age, renting a flat, single, without children. I also wouldn't want to be coming out of university today with debts and qualifications that are not worth what they were 20 years ago. | I am the most content now that I have been. I have a wife and a career and children. I would not want to be my age, renting a flat, single, without children. I also wouldn't want to be coming out of university today with debts and qualifications that are not worth what they were 20 years ago. |
| I see friends and some have gone from job to job. They enjoyed their degrees but in hindsight they have not been that useful to them. But then again you can't have a world full of mathematicians and computer programmers. | I see friends and some have gone from job to job. They enjoyed their degrees but in hindsight they have not been that useful to them. But then again you can't have a world full of mathematicians and computer programmers. |
| I see the effect of trying to survive in London on some of my friends. The riots were a concern. The rioters didn't strike me as very happy teenagers. When I look at London my biggest concern is education, as it is for most parents. | I see the effect of trying to survive in London on some of my friends. The riots were a concern. The rioters didn't strike me as very happy teenagers. When I look at London my biggest concern is education, as it is for most parents. |
| My father is 80 now and my mother is younger. I try to make sure that my children spend as much time with them as possible. I want them to understand what it was like to come from a village in northern India. | My father is 80 now and my mother is younger. I try to make sure that my children spend as much time with them as possible. I want them to understand what it was like to come from a village in northern India. |
| I didn't appreciate my parents' values when I was growing up. They were always working and saving. They didn't indulge themselves, they were always thinking about what they would pass on to their children. | I didn't appreciate my parents' values when I was growing up. They were always working and saving. They didn't indulge themselves, they were always thinking about what they would pass on to their children. |
| HAPPINESS IS … | HAPPINESS IS … |
| The highest levels of happiness were recorded among the young and the old. People aged 16 to 19 and 65 to 79 reported life satisfaction above the national average. | The highest levels of happiness were recorded among the young and the old. People aged 16 to 19 and 65 to 79 reported life satisfaction above the national average. |
| If you're between 45 and 54, you're likely to be less happy, although the average score was still more than seven out of 10. | If you're between 45 and 54, you're likely to be less happy, although the average score was still more than seven out of 10. |
| The highest proportion of people with very low life satisfaction was found in the 55 to 59 age range. | The highest proportion of people with very low life satisfaction was found in the 55 to 59 age range. |
| Unemployed people are more than twice as likely to be unhappy as those in employment. One in five people with jobs gave their life satisfaction as less than seven out of 10, but of those without work this figure was 45%. | Unemployed people are more than twice as likely to be unhappy as those in employment. One in five people with jobs gave their life satisfaction as less than seven out of 10, but of those without work this figure was 45%. |
| It's increasingly hard to get a foot on the property ladder, but owning your home improves your chances of happiness. Two-thirds of people who rent were happy, compared to four-fifths of people who own their property. | It's increasingly hard to get a foot on the property ladder, but owning your home improves your chances of happiness. Two-thirds of people who rent were happy, compared to four-fifths of people who own their property. |
| Black, African Caribbean and black British people have the lowest life satisfaction of any ethnic group. Their average of 6.7 out of 10 is 0.8 lower than the most satisfied group, people from Indian backgrounds. | Black, African Caribbean and black British people have the lowest life satisfaction of any ethnic group. Their average of 6.7 out of 10 is 0.8 lower than the most satisfied group, people from Indian backgrounds. |
| Northern Ireland has the smallest proportion of people with low life satisfaction in the UK. England has the highest. | Northern Ireland has the smallest proportion of people with low life satisfaction in the UK. England has the highest. |
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