World Happiness Report 2026: How social media makes youth unhappy

The World Happiness Report 2026, published on Thursday, paints a bleak picture for Generation Z in North America, Western Europe, and Oceania. For more than a decade, the UN-backed study has provided data on global life satisfaction. However, regional differences have rarely been as pronounced as they are today. While general life satisfaction has increased in 79 out of 136 surveyed countries, the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, in particular, are experiencing a significant decline in well-being among those under 25. This trend contrasts with other regions of the world where young people are happier today than they were twenty years ago.

Researchers identify excessive use of social media as a key factor in this development. Their analysis shows that time spent on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook & Co. is directly related to mental health. According to scientists, heavy users who spend more than seven hours a day on these platforms are particularly at risk. Experts measured significantly lower well-being scores in this group. Girls in Western countries are particularly affected by the consequences: in Western Europe, the decline in life satisfaction with intensive use is almost twice as high as in other regions.

The effects depend heavily on the type of platform and usage. Algorithm-based feeds that rely on visual content and influencer impact correlate most strongly with negative emotions such as envy, stress, and depression. Services primarily used for direct communication have less of an impact. According to the authors, "algorithmic traps" promote harmful social comparisons and can lead to a downward spiral of dissatisfaction and even more intensive use.

Complete abstinence is also not good

Interestingly, social media abstainers in some regions also report lower satisfaction. This suggests that complete abstinence can lead to social isolation. Overall, however, the evidence for direct harm such as cyberbullying and indirect consequences such as depressive moods predominates. A study on the connection between social media and loneliness also illustrates that digital offerings cannot replace the value of analog encounters.

This is already leading to consequences in the political debate. At the end of 2025, Australia raised the age limit for the use of many major platforms to 16 years. Countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, and Spain are considering similar steps, including comprehensive age verification online. The report supports these efforts with the thesis that social media represent a "negative externality" for non-users: many young people use the services only because their entire social circle is present there. At the same time, they stated that they would be happier without such platforms.

Finns remain the happiest

Despite the digital challenges, Finland remains the happiest country in the world for the ninth consecutive year. With a score of 7.764 on a scale of ten, it leads the ranking, closely followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica. Sweden follows in fifth place, which researchers attribute, for example, to strong social ties and high trust in the community. Germany belongs to the group of Western industrialized nations in which life satisfaction has significantly decreased compared to the period 2005 to 2010. At the bottom of the scale is war-torn Afghanistan, where extensive human rights violations continue to occur.

The calculation of the index is based on six key factors: gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perception of corruption. The authors emphasize that the feeling of belonging in the real world – for example, in a school environment – is a far stronger guarantee of happiness than digital networking. This gives politics a clear mandate: it is not only important to regulate harmful digital structures. Above all, the social foundations in the physical world must be strengthened. The fact that analog contacts are more effective against loneliness than digital communities underscores the necessity of such measures.

The report is compiled by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in cooperation with the market research company Gallup, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and an independent editorial committee.

(kbe)