An ugly U.S. election dominated the news for an entire year, and 2016 has been called the “worst year ever” by many pundits. Despite that, a poll of 1,005 Americans conducted by Ipsos showed that 70% of Americans still considered themselves to be happy in 2016.
When asked to name their happiest moments from 2016, “The election is over” was the clear-cut answer, according to a survey commissioned by the creators of DieHappy, an app that helps people plan and share reunions and celebrations.
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Happiness, though, was most greatly influenced by spending time with family and friends. When asked what personally made them happiest in 2016, a majority (53%) chose that answer when given a list of six options – more than three times the second-place answer of improving their financial position (15%)
To bring themselves more happiness in the New Year, 36% of people hoped for a better financial position, and 22% wanted to strive for better physical fitness.
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“It continues to be so interesting that even though most of us realize that our friends and family brought us the most happiness as we look backwards, we too often still fixate on monetary items that we think might bring us more happiness in the future,” said Shawn Boyer, creator of DieHappy and the 2008 U.S. Small Business Administration National Small Business Person of the Year. “Thankfully, as we get older, it becomes more and more clear that our relationships are what really matter.”
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