The digital environment is creating a new way for young people to experience happiness, which is currently developing. A new global study warns that rising social media use and youth mental health concerns are closely linked, especially among teenagers.
The World Happiness Report 2026 by the Wellbeing Research Centre, published on Thursday, shows that excessive use of social media platforms results in reduced happiness among young users.
The study, which included responses from approximately 100000 individuals across 140 different countries, revealed that life satisfaction among people under the age of 25 experienced a steep decline in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The report shows that heavy social media use together with teen mental health problems has become a serious issue which particularly affects teenage girls. Social platform users who spend five hours or more on these sites each day show decreased life satisfaction when compared to users who spend less time on the platforms.
The research centre director Jan-Emmanuel De Neve stated that the decline might show weaker connections between people in real life. He observed that regions which possess strong family bonds and community connections report higher levels of happiness.
The World Happiness Report 2026 shows that moderate use results in a different usage pattern. Young people who spend less than one hour a day on social media report higher well-being than those who avoid it completely. The current average daily usage among adolescents has reached 2.5 hours.
The report shows global trends that extend beyond its initial research concerns. The happiest country for nine consecutive years is Finland, which is followed by other Nordic countries.
The top five ranking now includes Costa Rica because its citizens create strong social connections and active community involvement.
The findings emerge as governments around the world discuss which social media access restrictions they should implement for underage users. Young people's happiness decreases because of excessive visual platform usage, which researchers identified as a main cause.