The Gist: People who have experienced professional, physical or emotional self-realization are more likely to think their teenage self would enjoy meeting them.
Blame it on Big or 13 Going on 30’s nearly constant rotation on cable; I can’t help but think what my teen self would think if she met me now. As usual, I’m more curious what other folks think: “Would your teenage self like who you are now?”
Heartwarmingly, the majority of U.S. Adults think their teen self would be happy to meet their adult self. People who answered yes are more likely to earn over $100k a year. I’m not sure my teenage self would’ve made much sense of annual income. But, it’s not a surprise that people who have done well financially think they would make their teenage selves proud.
But it’s not all about income. Workplace happiness, regardless of pay, plays into the equation.
Or perhaps your teenage self would still be proud of your psyche? People who responded “Yes” are more likely to consider themselves to be more healthy.
Also, this group is “settled.” They’re more likely to be married and own a home. Conversely, people who responded “No” are more likely to live with their parents.
Your teenage self might like meeting you now when you’ve grown into yourself. People who self-identify as queer or non-gender binary are more likely to respond yes.
So while we don’t have a time machine or a wish-granting Zoltar on hand, we can all imagine what our childhood selves would think if they stumbled into us on the street. Higher income, workplace happiness, general healthiness and a healthy understanding of oneself seems to be the recipe to make a teenage self-happy. Although a different question entirely, the above works in some ways as a proxy to indicate overall happiness at this moment.
