Why Everything Feels Worse (But Isn't)

LUMO AI Try it free https://www.proton.me/lumo/economicshelp 70% of people think the world is getting worse. Only 4% think it's getting better. But dementia risk is falling, cancer survival has doubled, murder rates have halved across Europe, obesity is declining for the first time in decades, and road deaths are a fraction of what they were. The reason it doesn't feel that way comes down to a simple asymmetry: bad news is sudden and makes headlines, good news happens slowly and doesn't. This video looks at what the data actually shows — and is honest about the things that genuinely are getting worse. Chapters 00:00 – 70% think the world is getting worse 00:30 – Dementia: the decline nobody reported 01:05– Why good news doesn't make headlines 01:16 – Cancer survival and life expectancy 02:00 – Obesity falls for the first time in 50 years 02:31– Smoking, air quality and clean air 03:36 – Lumo Proton 04:30 – Crime: perception vs reality 05:50 – What we get wrong about wealth, immigration and religion 06:23 – Road deaths down 80% 07:00 – Solar, batteries and sodium 08:10 – What genuinely is getting worse Sources Dementia incidence — Wolters et al., Neurology (2020), Alzheimer Cohorts Consortium Cancer survival — Rachet et al., Lancet Regional Health – Europe (2025) / Cancer Research UK Obesity — CDC/NCHS Health E-Stat 111 (NHANES); Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index (2025) Smoking — ONS Adult Smoking Habits in the UK; ASH Smoking Statistics fact sheet Homicide rates — WHO Mortality Database via Our World in Data; ONS Homicide in England and Wales Road deaths — Department for Transport / House of Commons Library (CBP-2198) Solar and battery costs — Our World in Data (IRENA, BloombergNEF) Perceptions — Ipsos Perils of Perception; YouGov https://yougov.com/en-gb/daily-result... https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/up... https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.u... https://frasernelson.substack.com/p/i... A note on the data Dementia figures refer to age-adjusted incidence — individual risk is falling, while total cases still rise as populations age. Obesity figures come from two different series (NHANES is measured, Gallup is self-reported) and are not directly comparable. Sodium battery costs are currently near parity with cheap lithium-iron-phosphate, with the projected crossover around 2027. ► Please SUBSCRIBE! https://www.youtube.com/c/economicshe... ABOUT ----------- ► https://www.economicshelp.org was founded in 2006 by Tejvan Pettinger, who studied PPE at Oxford University and teaches economics. He has published several economics books, including: ► Economic Short Cuts https://amzn.to/3IgxupC ► 50 Essential Economic Ideas https://amzn.to/3IgxndG ► Cracking Economics. https://www.economicshelp.org/shop/cr... ► What Would Keynes Do? Amazon https://amzn.to/2xShqq4 ► Economics Without the Boring Bits https://amzn.to/48T1hA9