The Guardian: Shift Happens 2024

“Powered by our audience insights, alongside a 1,500-person nationwide survey, ‘Shift Happens 2024’ shows major shifts in how we’re living our lives, how we’re finding light in shade, the new things we’re trying, and how we’re having great second acts,” writes Imogen Fox, Chief Advertising Officer at Guardian News & Media, opening the report into how people are living in ‘the age of chaos’. 

She continues: “So what new stuff did we uncover? Well, elite olives are now in everyone’s fridges, amateur sleuthing has gone mainstream and lots of people are opting into what we’re calling “chaos celibacy” – one in five UK adults are single and have stopped dating. This isn’t 90s hedonism or noughties extravagance, but a UK that’s deeply determined to capture joy and make new choices when the big picture feels overwhelming.”

Findings include: 

• One in five UK adults says they are single and have stopped dating, with women making up almost 60% of those hitting pause on love as the modern dating landscape shifts 
• Despite the world getting weirder, people are happier than last year with an average combined happiness score of 7.3/10 vs 5.9/10 in 2023
• 66% of UK adults think keeping fit is essential for their mental state as the country's focus on fitness and wellbeing remains 
• 76% of UK adults have maintained or increased their spend on household food and drink over the past year, while 69% have maintained or increased their spend on entertainment subscriptions

For more download the full report via Guardian Advertising here. 

Shift Happens is powered by a diverse and nationally representative survey of 1,500 adults across the UK with research partner QuMind, alongside intimate focus groups; rich first party audience insights drawn from Guardian journalism; and Guardian Voices, a proprietary research panel of 6,000 readers.