Social media apps equivalent to Instagram and TikTok, which encourage algorithm-driven scrolling, are worse for mental health than platforms equivalent to Facebook and WhatsApp, which prioritise social connection, in line with an annual barometer of global happiness.
The World Happiness Report discovered extreme use of social media was inflicting unhappiness amongst younger folks the world over, though the influence was worse in English-speaking international locations and western Europe.
Overall happiness ranges within the UK have been on the lowest degree because the report was first revealed in 2012.
The report, led by the Wellbeing Research Centre on the University of Oxford, additionally discovered the kind of social media used and length of use had a major influence on person wellbeing.
A study throughout 17 international locations in Latin America discovered frequent use of WhatsApp and Facebook was related to greater life satisfaction, whereas use of X, Instagram and TikTok – that are extra closely dictated by algorithms and influencer content material – led to decrease happiness and mental health issues.
Another study within the Middle East and north Africa additionally discovered apps that have been extra passive and visible, typically stuffed with influencer content material, have been extra problematic.
“It suggests we need to put the social back into social media, and nudge both the providers of these platforms, as well as the users, to leverage these tools for social purposes and connecting with real people,” mentioned Prof Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and an editor of the report.
Research additionally confirmed that restricted social media use of an hour or much less a day led to greater life satisfaction than no social media use in any respect (excluding individuals who didn’t have entry to the web).
“There’s a bit of a Goldilocks proposition here – not too much, not too little. Positive moderate use seems to be optimal,” De Neve mentioned. “But the average social media usage time in the data was not an hour or less, it’s more like two-and-a-half hours.”
De Neve mentioned these findings have been notably related within the wake of Australia’s whole ban on social media for under-16s, which incorporates Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X, however excludes messaging apps equivalent to WhatsApp.
“This is really critical – it’s the biggest test of a complete ban of social media for under-16s, and all other countries really should take note of the results and not jump the gun,” he mentioned.
The report features a rating of nations by happiness degree, and 2026 marked the second 12 months in a row that there have been no English-speaking international locations within the high 10.
Finland topped the happiness leaderboard for the ninth consecutive 12 months, with the UK in twenty ninth place (down from twenty third final 12 months), the US in twenty third, Australia in fifteenth and Ireland in thirteenth.
Costa Rica got here in fourth, up from twenty third in 2023, whereas international locations equivalent to Kosovo (sixteenth), Slovenia (18th) and the Czech Republic (twentieth) all rose up the ranks.
The study, created together with analytics firm Gallup and the UN sustainable growth options community, discovered youth happiness different dramatically throughout the globe, even in international locations the place social media is prevalent.
“If you look at somewhere like Lithuania, youth wellbeing is much higher than, say, the US or the UK, and they obviously have access to all these social media platforms too,” De Neve mentioned. “So you can’t just pinpoint only social media, there’s a hell of a lot more going on.
“American youth or British youth will say things such as affordability, anxiety relating to the future of work and having jobs vanish before their eyes, also really concern them.”
