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Each year, the World Happiness Report brings together wellbeing data from over 140 countries with insights from leading researchers across disciplines.
The 2026 edition focuses on the relationship between social media and wellbeing, contributing to an important and timely global conversation.
Explore World Happiness Report 2026
Happiness and social media
Heavy social media use appears to be contributing to the drop in wellbeing among young people in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, especially among girls.
Youth wellbeing on the rise (but not everywhere)
Life evaluations among under-25s in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have dropped dramatically (by almost one point on a 0-10 scale) over the past decade, while the average for the young in the rest of the world has increased.
Heavy social media use
One international survey of 15-year-olds in nearly 50 countries suggests heavy social media use is associated, on average, with a significant drop in wellbeing among the students surveyed, though any effect is highly dependent on the type of social media platform being used, how it is used, as well as demographic factors such as gender and socio-economic status.
Light social media use
Young people who use social media for less than one hour per day report the highest levels of wellbeing – higher than those who do not use social media at all. But adolescents are, by one estimate, spending an average of 2.5 hours a day on social media.
Social connection and belonging
Other factors, such as social connections and a sense of belonging, are associated with much bigger changes in how respondents feel about their lives.
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