From 2019 through 2021, there have been many issues confronting us; from riots in the U.S. to social media issues, and most significantly: the pandemic. As the new year has come, hope and happiness is what this society needs now.

According to the journal Hope and Happiness, by Ruut Veenhoven, hope and happiness are similar, but also different. Hope is the expectation that things will turn out well in the future. Happiness is influenced by the enjoyment of one’s life.

Anna Sitar, an influencer from TikTok that believes in giving people hope and happiness into their lives, said she feels happy when she “tells everyone I’m proud of them (and means it).”

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are social media’s top three social networking sites. They have brought a social issue to most parents as their kids are addicted to these sites. All of these platforms and their usage by teenagers result in negative impacts to teens, such as depression, or an inflated sense of self-esteem.

“I surround myself with people that make me happy. It cheers me up when I’m around friends,” sophomore Lexi Arnold said.

When senior Patrick McCabe hears information on social media or on TV about riots, protests and human rights conflicts, he said it doesn’t evoke a specific feeling in him. Instead, McCabe takes a step back to calm parts of the situation from influencing him.

According to the journal Rule of Hope, author James Averill said that his hope is an emotion similar to both love and anger. Averill and his colleagues found in their studies that subjects rated to anger, love and hope all had the same five features.

• Five features that are related to Hope:
  Difficult to control
  Affect the way you think or perceive events
  Affect the way you behave
  Motivate behavior, increase persistence, enable one to go on (Even in the face of the adversity)
  Common universal experiences

In order to have all three [hope, happiness, optimism], one should begin with optimism because it’s used to denote a positive attitude that good things will happen in the future.

Happiness is what gives hope for the future. All three of these are connected, but you have to use them the right way.

Hope equals happiness plus optimism, according to Patricia A. Dunavold from California State University.

In a tumultuous climate, the entire community (and world) could use a dose of hope.

According to the journal Can Social Media Make a Real Difference? by Jeff Goins, the world may be a dark place but there are times when hope can shine light within a dark place. In today’s world it’s by connecting with people through social media and stumbling upon a story; like a protest that someone really cares about. It gives that person hope for the future, even if the story hits a few followers.

Even with the pandemic and a lot of world issues, Anna Sitar still managed to direct a short film that kept her motivated and happy with life, “prefers to ask deep questions cause I hate superficial BS,” Sitar said.

According to an interview by CNN’s, anchor, Anderson Cooper, he’s always excited to meet the young athletes. He always hopes that he can inspire those kids and put effort  or them to become what he knows they can be. Cooper hopes to make a mark on those kids and see what they become in the future.

“The happiest time I would have to say, was just this past weekend Jan 6 – Jan 8, 2022 by being at the Youth In Government model assembly,” McCabe said.

As McCabe talks about world issues like racism, COVID-19, sexism, violent crimes, real people are doing this as a career by being in government, or being a politician. They are finding ways to improve these issues and give the people hope for the future.

According to the Pew Research Center, Americans are saying the major problems that this country faces are healthcare affordability, the rate of coronavirus, and the gun violence that has happened within 2019-2021 year.