… and it’s not MTV, according to a recent survey. Thank goodness their audience has a lot more brains than MTV gives them credit for.

NEW YORK - So you’re between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy? A worried, weary parent might imagine the answer to sound something like this: Sex, drugs, a little rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe some cash, or at least the car keys.

Turns out the real answer is quite different. Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey — more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 — conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America’s young people.

Well, I’m not that surprised, and I’ll bet most parents aren’t that surprised. But MTV’s surprise is almost palpable.

You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said “money” when asked what makes them happy, ….

And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you’re 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.

What?! Sex and money isn’t making kids happy? Well, that’s just downright weird. It’s been doing such wonders for Boomers and Gen-X’ers who are SO happy — (Pass the Zoloft, Lunestra, pretty-purple-Nexium and that little green pill for Restless Leg Syndrome, will you? Oh, and get me that hotline for reducing debt, alcoholism and stress by hypnosis.) — like I was saying, SO happy that we hardly know what to do with ourselves.

Oh, and having exhausted all the other possibilities, the article gives some grudging acknowledgment to, y’know, The Religion Thing:

Close to half say religion and spirituality are very important. And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy. Beyond religion, simply belonging to an organized religious group makes people happier.

And buried much further in the article:

Those for whom religion and spirituality plays a bigger role tend to be happier, according to the poll. More than half — 55 percent — say it is either a very important part of life or the single most important thing in their lives.

Just for comparison, it was 20% that said that spending time with their parents made them happy, and that was the biggest response. So 55% is really a big number to have here. But then, you’re not likely to hear much about all this in any case, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.

I think it’ll get buried because it doesn’t fit the standard narrative, and because it actually lays responsibility with those 25 and up: parents, and — to a lesser degree — the other adults in church and school that kids come into contact with. If “three-quarters — 73 percent — said their relationship with their parents makes them happy,” then families need to stay together and the home is still the most important place in a young person’s life. If more than half think that spiritual needs are very important, then churches need to remember young people are out there (something Orthodox churches are probably a little more guilty of than others, IMHO).

More work for the grown-ups, but worth it for a generation that sounds like they might have their priorities in better shape than we did.