Heavy social media use has led to a stark drop in happiness among young people, according to a major academic study.
Fifteen-year-old girls who use social media for more than five hours a day are the most likely to see a drop in life-satisfaction, the 2026 edition of the World Happiness Report reveals.
The annual study, published by the University of Oxford, asked around 1,000 people to rate their lives from 0 to 10 each year.
Under-25s in English-speaking and Western European countries are also likely to have become unhappy, with scores dropping by almost one point over the past decade.
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Young people who use social media for less than an hour a day report the highest levels of well-being, the researchers find.
“It is clear that we should look as much as possible to put the ‘social’ back into social media,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, an Oxford economics professor who directs the Wellbeing Research Centre.
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Researchers noted that in some parts of the world, such as the Middle East and South America, the links between social media use and well-being are more positive – and youth well-being has not fallen despite heavy social media use.
Finland was crowned the happiest country in the world for the ninth year in a row – whilst other Nordic countries Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway all ranked among the top 10.
The United Kingdom came in 29th – unchanged from last year when it reached its lowest since the World Happiness Report began collecting data.
The UK’s best ranking came nine years ago when it was 13th, in 2019.
A new entry to the top five on the list is Costa Rica, which climbed to fourth place this year after rising through the ranks from 23rd place in 2023.
“We think it’s because of the quality of their social lives and the stability that they currently enjoy,” De Neve added.
“Latin America more generally has strong family ties, strong social ties, a great level of social capital, as a sociologist would call it, more so than in other places.”
Meanwhile the dominance of Nordic nations is put down to a combination of wealth distribution, welfare, and a healthy life expectancy.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said: “I do not think there is a magic potion, but it helps to have a society which strives towards freedom, equality and justice.”
