Should we be optimistic about the future?

Yes – with caution. Challenges like climate change and inequality are real, but evidence shows humanity has consistently solved problems once thought insurmountable. Diseases have been eradicated, literacy has soared, and violence has declined. Media literacy helps balance pessimism fueled by headlines with optimism grounded in facts. The fact-based truth is that optimism is not naïve—it is evidence-based confidence that humans, through cooperation and innovation, can continue to make the world better.