"This research, released on Thursday, March 19, 2026 (the day before World Happiness Day), is based on a three-year average of each population's assessment of their quality of life. It takes into account six key factors that impact happiness: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption."
"One of the biggest takeaways from the 2026 report is the fact that social media use is contributing to a "drop in wellbeing among young people in English-speaking countries," particularly in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; and especially among girls."
"While the report finds that younger people who use social media for less than one hour per day report the highest levels of wellbeing, it also shows that those wellbeing levels are higher than for those who do not use social media at all."
The World Happiness Report, released annually since 2012, ranks countries by population contentment levels. The 2026 report measures happiness based on three-year averages of quality-of-life assessments, evaluating six key factors: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption. The research also examines happiness distribution within countries, finding that nations with smaller "happiness gaps"—where populations have similar access to these factors—report higher overall happiness. A significant finding highlights that heavy social media use correlates with reduced wellbeing among young people in English-speaking nations, especially girls, though moderate use under one hour daily produces higher wellbeing than no social media use.
#world-happiness-report #social-media-impact #youth-wellbeing #quality-of-life-factors #happiness-inequality
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]