People are pessimistic about the world but optimistic about their own lives
StatTrends
People rate the state of the world at 5.5 out of 10 but their own lives at 7.2, and 69% still feel regularly hopeful for the future. VML calls the 2026 mood 'dysoptimism': darkness acknowledged, despair refused - and most consumer behaviour shifts in the report live in that gap.
Source
VML, The Future 100: 2026 (2026)
VML Intelligence (Emma Chiu, Marie Stafford)
VML Intelligence SONAR (n=15,639, 16 markets, Sep-Nov 2025), The Future 100: 2026, s. 9
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