Social media making young people less happy, report finds

"Heavy social media use partly explains a worrying decline in the wellbeing of young people in the West, the latest edition of the annual World Happiness Report said on Wednesday. In total, 15 Western countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, saw significant declines in youth wellbeing over the past two decades, according to the report."

"The trend was not observed globally, with young people in regions covering 90 percent of the world's population reporting higher life satisfaction than before. The trends are caused by many factors, which differ between continents. However, the evidence in this report does suggest that heavy social media use, especially in some countries, provides an important part of the explanation."

"Outside the English-speaking world and Western Europe, the links between social media use and wellbeing are more positive, and they vary between platforms, the researchers added. Despite the decline in youth wellbeing, Western countries, particularly in Scandinavia, dominated the overall happiness rankings across age groups."

The World Happiness Report, a UN-backed annual publication, identifies heavy social media use as a major factor in declining wellbeing among young people in Western nations including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand over the past 20 years. This trend contrasts sharply with global patterns, where young people in regions representing 90 percent of the world's population report higher life satisfaction. Researchers emphasize that multiple factors contribute to these regional differences, with social media playing a particularly significant role in Western countries. Outside English-speaking regions and Western Europe, social media's relationship with wellbeing is more positive and varies by platform. Despite youth wellbeing declines, Western countries, especially Scandinavian nations, maintain top positions in overall happiness rankings globally.

Read at www.aljazeera.com