Heavy social media use weighs on teens, finds UN happiness report

Heavy social media use is associated with lower well-being among young people, according to the 2026 World Happiness Report. © AP - Rick Rycroft

Heavy use of social media may be contributing to a decline in young people’s well-being in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, with teenage girls among the hardest hit, according to the latest UN-sponsored survey of global happiness.

Published on Thursday by the University of Oxford's Wellbeing Research Centre, the annual World Happiness Report paints a mixed picture.