New Yorkers say 'blah' to census

What do New Yorkers have to say about their lives? Apparently, not a whole lot.

According to a recent Gallup poll that asked how people feel about their overall well-being, New Yorkers landed in the middle with a score of 65.3 out of 100.

Gallup scored peoples' attitudes about six categories: emotional health, work environment, physical health, life evaluation, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities.

Psychology professor Emily Balcetis said that although this data may show how New Yorkers feel about their lives, it is very difficult to assess why this may be the case. She did offer some speculation, however.

"In New York, perhaps the difference between wealthy New Yorkers and less wealthy New Yorkers might be greater and more apparent than in other states," Balcetis said. "Markers of status and success might be more easily discerned than in other states. It is in comparing oneself to others that people experience decreased well-being."

But in terms of reflecting New Yorker's overall mental health, CAS psychology professor Dr. David M. Amodio said the poll shows very little.

"One thing to keep in mind is that these results are based primarily on people's self-reports, which are very subjective," Amodio said. "So these surveys mostly tell us how happy and healthy people think they are, which may or may not reflect more objective health indices."

CAS freshman Nadrah Mohammed believes the poll is an accurate representation of how New Yorkers feel and acknowledged how the extremes of New York can play a large part in maintaining this sentiment.

"Everyone comes to New York because it's fun and there's so much culture and so much to do, but in reality, it's a hard place to live — especially since the cost of living is so high," she said.

Nadrah said she is not at all surprised that New York's score was just average.