Do you really want to be an “Average” American?
Mount Carmel Junction, Utah
One of my favorite writers, Mark Manson, wrote a popular blog post titled "In Defense of Being Average" that encapsulates a key part of his philosophy which, I would summarize as, "you don't need to be exceptional to have a happy and fulfilling life."
In his article, Manson writes that he's arguing for the merits of mediocrity: "not the merits of pursuing mediocrity, mind you — because we all should try to do the best we possibly can — but rather, the merits of accepting mediocrity when we end up there despite our best efforts." As a self-help writer crossed with a philosopher, Manson does definitely advocate for self-improvement and moving up the spectrum and not settling for the status quo. But accepting mediocrity? That still seems like a difficult pill to swallow.
As I contemplated this, I found myself wondering: what does the Average American look like, anyway? We hear all these sound bites in Instagram reels and in truncated tweets about what constitutes the Average American... but I wanted to get a better picture. I wanted to dive a little deeper and see exactly what "average" looks like across the country... and let me tell you, after spending the better part of a day running searches, looking at survey results, and reading statistical analyses, the outlook is bleak.
Here's what the Average American looks like:
The Average American
Fitness
The average American (52.4%) is "obese" or "severely" obese, according to the CDC. Of that percentage, 9.6% are "severely obese."
An additional 30.3% of Americans are merely "overweight," but since all Americans in the obese category are also overweight, this means a whopping 82.7% of Americans are overweight. (Source)
Only 23% of Americans get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week, according to the CDC in 2018.
The average American exercises 2 hours per week, according to a 2012 article.
"Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day," according to Library.Delta.Edu.
Going Outdoors
The average American spends 93% of their life indoors. (Source)
In 2018, ~50% of Americans didn't go outside to exercise even once per year. This number improved in 2021, with 54% of Americans exercising outside at least once per year... but it's unclear if this is a statistical anomaly due to COVID-19.
Travel
The average American has only visited 3 nations, (source) and 27% of Americans have never left the country. (Source)
Only 11% of Americans have visited 10 or more countries. (Source)
Even within the USA, the average American has only visited 12 different states, and 10% of Americans have never left their home state. (Source)
Finances
56% of Americans can't cover a $1,000 emergency expense. (Source)
The average American credit card debt is $5,804, with a total of $940 billion in credit card debt in the USA. (Source)
The average federal student loan debt is $37,574, and the average private student loan debt is $54,921. (Source)
The average new car payment hit a new high of $777/month in December 2022. (Source)
The median 401k balance is just $35,345 across the entire population, including current retirees. (Source)
TV Consumption
The New York Times reported (in pre-pandemic times) that the average American watches 5 hours and 4 minutes of television per day. That’s 35.47 hours of TV per week or more than 1,844 hours per year.
According to Statista, this number is lower at 2.86 hours of TV watching per day, on average. However, TV consumption is much higher in certain demographics, especially the older population.
Smartphone Use
The average American spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their smartphone per day. (Source)
However, in a different survey, about half of survey respondents "stated that on average they spent 5 to 6 hours on their phone on a daily basis, not including work-related smartphone use," according to Statista.
Reading
"The typical (median) American has read 4 books in the last 12 months," according to PewResearch.org.
Half of U.S. adults can’t read a book written at the 8th-grade level, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
About 23% of Americans haven't read a single book in the past year. (Source)
Now, do you really want to be "average"?
THIS, my friends, is what "average" actually looks like. The average American is obese, nearly illiterate, mired in debt, and spending their one precious life sitting in their house staring at their TV and smartphone screens.
The problem with Manson's article and many others in the news media today is that these articles make "average" seem quite acceptable. Being average is, by definition, the norm. But when we look at what average is, when we analyze what it means to be average... does any one of us actually want this for our lives?
I hope the answer is an emphatic "FUCK NO!"
There's tremendous space between "average" and "exceptional."
Mount Carmel Junction, Utah
To the crux of Manson's point: can every single one of us be exceptional in all areas of our lives? Can every single one of us be exceptional in even one area in our life?
As he astutely explains, the answer, by definition, is "no." If everyone were exceptional, then that would be the new average, and no one would be exceptional.
Where I think Manson misses the mark is the vast amount of space between the American "average" and what it takes to be "exceptional," aka being one of the "best in the world." Here's the thing: if the average is truly this bad, then we can all still live incredible above-average lives without being exceptional. There's a vast amount of space between being obese and being an Olympic track star. None of us needs to perform at an Olympic level to be fit, healthy, and happy.
Mount Carmel Junction, Utah
We can all be reasonably fit and in shape if we so choose. We can all go outside and cover one human-powered mile every single day. We can all build healthy financial habits. We can all reduce our screen addiction and increase the number of books, podcasts, and other constructive media that we consume. We can all make massive gains in every single one of these categories and live lives that are dramatically better than average.
I believe in us—I believe in you. You don't have to settle for being an average American. Indeed, if you're reading this obscure blog, you're already a part of the counterculture.
So stop accepting "average" as a reasonable benchmark and, instead, shoot for greatness. Aim to be the best that you can be. Even if you fall short of world-class, at the very least, you'll land way further ahead than this shitty benchmark of "average."
Personally, I'm happy with just being better than average.
