This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDespite what we hear on the news\u2026 the great story of our era is that we are witnessing the greatest improvement in global living standards ever to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 John Norberg<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n As years go, 2025 was a pretty good one, I think.<\/p>\n Derek Thompson goes so far as to say<\/a> it was \u201can exceptional year for America,\u201d citing, among other things, huge declines in traffic deaths, drug overdoses and suicides, the largest-ever drop in murder rates, and dramatic advances in healthcare.<\/p>\n \u201cThis seems to be the first period on record when every major cause of premature death \u2014 overdose, auto accident, homicide, obesity \u2014 is falling at the same time,\u201d he adds<\/a>.<\/p>\n Noah Smith similarly lists<\/a> 10 reasons America might be \u201cputting itself back together,\u201d including rising life expectancy, peaking social media usage, and a surge in business dynamism.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most comprehensively, Human Progress<\/em> collates<\/a> 1,084 good-news stories reported this year: everything from the astonishing decline<\/a> of poverty in India to the return of puffins<\/a> to the UK.<\/p>\n If I wasn\u2019t a regular reader of the Human Progress<\/em> website, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be familiar with any of them, because good news rarely makes headlines.<\/p>\n This has always been the case \u2014 as the old newsroom saying goes, \u201cIf it leads, it bleeds.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s even more true now. In the fierce competition for our scarce attention, news outlets appear to be doubling down on the traditional strategy of terrifying us with bad news.<\/p>\n In 2022, an academic study<\/a> found \u201ca pattern of increasing negative sentiment in headlines.\u201d Specifically, headlines in 2019 were found to be 314% more likely to reflect anger, disgust, fear or sadness compared to 2000.\u00a0<\/p>\n It feels like things have only gotten worse since.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are experiencing a contagion of negativity,\u201d Marain Tupy warns<\/a>, \u201cdriven by the hypercompetitive media environment, with newspapers, television stations, radio and websites presenting a highly skewed picture of the state of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The state of the world was far from perfect in 2025, of course. War continued to rage, the climate continued to warm, governments continued to fall ever deeper in debt, migrants everywhere continued to be persecuted.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the world is almost certainly better than we think it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n Consider the Gallup poll<\/a> that found that 81% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in their life \u2014 and only 20% are satisfied with the way things are going in the country.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA country cannot be doing that poorly if a supermajority of its citizens are having an excellent time,\u201d Malcolm Cochran observes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Or consider as well the \u201caffordability crisis\u201d that is currently making headlines. After examining the evidence, The Economist<\/em> concludes<\/a> that \u201cnever has life been so affordable in America for so many.\u201d<\/p>\n Excellent news! But I suspect that won\u2019t get many clicks.\u00a0<\/p>\n So here\u2019s my New Year\u2019s resolution: Give more of my clicks to reports of good news.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s check the charts.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the graphic from the study<\/a> finding \u201ca pattern of increasing negative sentiment in headlines.\u201d Whatever the current state of the world, it\u2019s not 314% worse than it was in 2000.<\/p>\n The aforementioned Gallup poll: 81% of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives but only 20% say they are satisfied with America.\u00a0<\/p>\n As measured by employment and parenthood, the FT<\/em> reports<\/a> that young adults are becoming increasingly disengaged from society. I\u2019m guessing this upward trend is at least partially caused by the upward trend in negative headlines.<\/p>\n For all the hand-wringing over the \u201caffordability crisis,\u201d wages have grown faster than prices for the last decade, at least. In other words, things have gotten more affordable, not less. (Yes, this accounts for housing.)<\/p>\n Starting with the pandemic, consumer sentiment (in green) decoupled from real disposable income (blue) and has never recovered. More than ever, people are more pessimistic than the data suggests they should be.<\/p>\n\n
All the bad news that\u2019s fit to print:<\/h4>\n
I\u2019m<\/em> alright, but we\u2019re<\/em> not:<\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-8.png\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe kids are not alright:<\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-13.png\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nNot making headlines:\u00a0\u00a0<\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-11.png?w=1024&h=1024\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSentiment disconnect:<\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-12.png?w=1024&h=1024\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSome other things that never recovered:\u00a0<\/h4>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-15.png?w=1024&h=1024\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-9.png\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-7.png\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blockworks-co.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-10.png\")
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