Lockdown has made the nation happier, study finds

Another horrible piece I've had the displeasure of reading.

"According to a study by Cambridge University’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy, the number of Britons self-reporting as “happy” halved in just three weeks at the start of lockdown.

Using data taken from YouGov Weekly Mood Tracker surveys and Google searches, the researchers found that the number of people declaring themselves as “happy” went from 51 per cent just before the UK’s first Covid-19 fatality to 25 per cent by the time lockdown began on 23 March.

However, once lockdown restrictions started to be lifted, these figures reversed, with happiness levels increasing back to close to what they were pre-pandemic, reaching 47 per cent by the end of May."

- No link to the study

- Happiness levels 51 percent -> 25 percent -> 47 percent. The baseline/absolute level of happiness did not increase. Also I'm not sure how you can claim the lockdowns increased the happiness when levels increased when lockdown restrictions started to be lifted.

I don't know the general perceived status of Independent as a news/media source compared to the BBC or CNN or Fox or NYT, but the title could use some serious improvement.

It also irks me when all across the internet today I see validity given to a topic if a certain paper or study is cited as reason for the fact they claim. I believe there are too many studies out there that both sides claim as proving their point. Examples of this can prominently been seen related to COVID topics and on Reddit where comments counter one another with papers being cited. Rarely do people question the validity of the paper, the integrity of the data, the motives of the researchers, etc. Precedence is given to institutional status in the name of science. (ie. A Stanford or Oxford paper)

That's a pretty misleading headline, Independent.

> once lockdown restrictions started to be lifted, these figures reversed, with happiness levels increasing back to close to what they were pre-pandemic, reaching 47 per cent by the end of May.

So the headline's an outright lie; people were less happy after the lockdown than before. A more accurate headline would be "People happier after lockdown lifted, but not at pre-lockdown levels."

> researchers found that the number of people declaring themselves as “happy” went from 51 per cent just before the UK’s first Covid-19 fatality to 25 per cent by the time lockdown began on 23 March.

Sounds like lockdown made the nation 50% less happy.

> “Mental health concerns are often cited as a reason to avoid lockdown.

> “In fact, when combined with employment and income support, lockdown may be the single most effective action a government can take during a pandemic to maintain psychological welfare.”

Not sure how you'd reach that conclusion with those numbers.

I like not commuting.

I like not dressing up.

I like cooking my lunch.

I like spending time with my housemates.

It has been more stressful starting a new job remotely.

Id like lockdown to be lifted completely so I can go swimming, to the gym and to the occasional mass gathering (pubs already partially reopened here).

There might be longer term issues around people socialising if they don't actually meet work colleagues.

It confuses me that people don't like the new regime...

Literally fake news.