Absolutely Insane Statistics 📈
Statistics you probably haven't thought about, but definitely should 📊
Yep, it’s that time of week again - Fun Friday! 🤭 I’m super pumped for this week’s post. I spent some time combing the internet for mind-blowing statistics that you’ve probably never heard of before, but should definitely know. I was an economics minor in college, but after doing this research, I discovered that I apparently learned nothing important about the economy. This is the mind-blowing info that would’ve made me study harder. Buckle up!
The whole idea for this post was sparked as I sat working in a coffee shop (which I do far too often… if that’s even possible). I know that the coffee shop phenomenon has really boomed, by which I mean coffee shops have skyrocketed in popularity and seem to be opening up left and right. So I googled the statistics. Currently, there are over 40,000 coffee shops in the U.S. alone! The value of the world coffee market has surged to almost $126 billion. I found this so interesting that, instead of writing my novel, I of course went down a rabbit hole and started researching statistics that I thought my Substack readers (hey, that’s you!) might find interesting. This post is the result.
Here’s some crazy stuff I learned:
The Economic Times reports that the illegal drug market is estimated to be worth around $650 billion. But what’s wild is that this is small when compared to the United States’s national debt, which currently lies at over $35 trillion. That means the value of the country’s national debt is worth over 53 times the global illegal drug market. Wow!
Did you know the average American spends over $11,000 on toilet paper in their lifetime? While I found this statistic in multiple places, I’m citing The New York Post here because of the crazy list at the bottom of the article detailing how much we spend on a variety of single-use goods. For instance, they report that we each spend over $10,000 on paper towels, $9,000 in tissues, and $8,000 in disposable razors! Add up just those four (which aren’t even half of the big-ticket items on their list), and you’ve got an annual salary for a full-time job.
In May 2022, CNBC reported that American households were spending the equivalent of $5,000 annually on gasoline. While that seems like a lot, what’s even crazier is that Americans were spending an average of just $2,800 only one year prior. That’s almost double the spending in just one year’s time!
In the past 5 years, rent has grown faster than wages in 44 out of the 50 largest American metros. NYC has had the harshest experience with this, with rent prices increasing 7 times faster than wages in 2023 alone. This is reported by a few sources, but StreetEasy provides the most straightforward list. So, I guess it’s not a great time to rent (although there is currently a small decrease in rental prices in some cities)… Butttt it’s not a great time to buy a home, either, so… yeah. 😢
According to Exploding Topics, social media users globally will spend more than 4 trillion hours on platforms this year alone. This does not include the time people will spend watching shows/movies on streaming services or on mobile gaming. An average 79-year lifespan is composed of 692,040 hours. That means that humans will spend a total of 4 trillion/692,040 = 5,780,012.7 lifetimes on social media this year. Over 5.7 million lifetimes on social media. In one year. Let that sink in.
That’s it, folks. Sorry if I heightened your anxiety today, but it had to be done. Albeit stress-inducing, these are stats I feel like you should know so that you can take them into consideration when making decisions this year.
What’s a crazy statistic you’ve learned? Share it with me in the comments - I’d love to hear from you! ❤️
1. I don’t use drugs, so that saves some money.
2. I give you that on the toilet paper.
3. I seem to spend between $200 and $300 a year on gas, year after year, but I’m no dope. I drive a sedan that gets 45-50 mpg. And see #4.
4. We bought an apartment in NYC years ago, paid it off, and now live cheaply.
5. I got off all social media once I saw the pointlessness of it.
So no, not stressed at all by your post. 😀