Social Media Hurts Youth Happiness, 2026 Report Finds

Oxford, United Kingdom — Intensive social media use is contributing to a marked decline in well-being among young people, particularly teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026. The annual study, published Thursday by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, ranks Finland as the happiest country in the world for the ninth consecutive year. The report also details a shift in the global rankings, with Mexico falling from 10th place in 2025 to 12th.

Nordic Dominance and Latin American Presence

The report determined that other Nordic nations—Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway—join Finland among the top ten happiest countries. It highlights the presence of two Latin American countries within the top 20: Costa Rica, which rose to fourth position, and Mexico. A nation from the Middle East, Israel, holds eighth place.

The consistent top performance of Finland and northern European countries is linked to a combination of wealth, its equitable distribution, welfare state protections, and healthy life expectancy. Conversely, nations in or near major conflict zones remain at the bottom of the rankings; Afghanistan is again listed as the unhappiest country, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi in Africa.

Costa Rica Rises as Mexico Falls

A notable new addition to the top five is Costa Rica, which climbed to fourth place this year after steadily rising from 23rd in 2023. The report attributes this progress to improvements in well-being stemming from strong family ties and other social connections.

Meanwhile, Mexico dropped from 10th place last year to 12th. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics at Oxford, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and co-editor of the report, commented on the regional strength. "Latin America, in general, has strong family ties, strong social bonds; a high level of social capital, as a sociologist would call it, more so than in other places," De Neve said.

Youth Well-Being and Social Media Correlation

The report notes that life evaluations among those under 25 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have fallen significantly over the past decade. It suggests that long hours spent on social media are a key factor in that trend. Respondents, who rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10, show that among the under-25 demographic in English-speaking and Western European countries, that score dropped by almost one point over the past decade.

The negative correlation between well-being and intensive social media use is especially pronounced among teenage girls. For example, 15-year-old girls who use social media for five hours or more reported a decrease in life satisfaction compared to those who use it less. Researchers stated that young people who use social media for less than an hour a day report the highest levels of well-being—higher even than those who do not use it at all. Teenagers spend an estimated average of 2.5 hours a day on social media.

"It is clear that we should try, as far as possible, to bring the 'social' back to social media," De Neve said.

Algorithmic Feeds and Regional Variations

The researchers identified the most problematic platforms as those with algorithmic feeds, which include influencers and where the main content is visual, because they encourage social comparisons. Those who use platforms that primarily facilitate communication fare better.

The report indicated that in some parts of the world, such as the Middle East and South America, the links between social media use and well-being are more positive, and youth well-being has not declined despite intensive use. It concluded that while many varying factors exist between continents, intensive social media use in some countries is a major factor contributing to the decline in youth well-being.

The 2026 ranking marks the second consecutive year that no English-speaking country appears in the top 10. The United States is in 23rd place, Canada in 25th, and the United Kingdom in 29th.

The report's focus on social media comes as a growing number of countries have banned or are considering banning social media use by minors. The country rankings were based on responses from approximately 100,000 people in 140 countries and territories, who were asked to rate their own lives. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Gallup research firm and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, with approximately one thousand people contacted per country each year by phone or in person.